Department for Transport

Rolling Stock

Michael Dugher: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many heavy rail vehicles built before 1999 have not been refurbished to comply with (a) RVAR 10 and (b) PRM TSI regulations.

Claire Perry: Fleets containing 1345 vehicles built before 1999 have, or currently are, being refurbished to either of the two accessibility standards. When combined with the 6115 vehicles built since 1998, this means that 59 per cent of the national heavy rail fleet meets the requirements. The equivalent proportion as at March 2010 was 45 per cent.   Approximately 5150 vehicles built before 1999 have yet to be made fully accessible, but we expect all to be made compliant, or replaced, by 2020.

Parking: Pedestrian Areas

Ian Lavery: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what representations he has received from local authorities in support of using traffic regulation orders to enforce a prohibition on the footway.

Ian Lavery: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the contribution of Baroness Williams of Trafford of 11 February 2015, Official Report, House of Lords, column 1333, that targeted local bans on pavement parking outside London would be more effective than a blanket ban and with reference to the Answer of 12 November 2013, Official Report, column 576W, on parking: pedestrian areas, that his Department does not collect information on local parking enforcement and pursuant to the Answer of 26 January 2015 to Question 221436, that his Department does not hold information on local authority traffic regulation orders, what the evidential basis is for the statement by Baroness Williams.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The ability of a local authority to make a traffic regulation order to prohibit footway parking already exists and is done without reference to my Department. We do not receive representations in this respect. My department may not collect information on local parking enforcement or traffic regulation orders, however the basis for the Government’s view is that targeted and properly enforced restrictions, using existing powers, address specific problems in specific areas. In contrast, a blanket ban would take no account of local circumstances. It would mean local authorities having to review their entire road network to identify where footway parking was still necessary and introduce new orders, signs and markings to enable it in those places. They would also have to remove the orders, signs and markings that are currently in place to restrict footway parking.

Railways: WiFi

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to his Department's press release of 11 February 2015, Free wifi to help rail commuters stay connected, and the speech of the Minister for the Cabinet Office at Sprint 15 of 3 February 2015, whether the free train wifi announced in that release will use the infrastructure announced in that speech.

Claire Perry: The infrastructure to which the Minister for the Cabinet Office referred is the masts, fibre and cables around the country owned, operated or leased by the public sector.   Free Wi-Fi on trains will be delivered by train-borne equipment and operated using the best available coverage of the mobile networks.   The Government has already agreed licence changes with the mobile network operators to achieve 90% geographic coverage of the mobile networks, which we expect will deliver an improvement to mobile coverage across the rail network. The Government is committed to working with the rail and mobile industries to improve coverage on the rail network including exploring options from the use of the publicly owned assets, where it is appropriate to do so.

Hitachi Rail Europe

Lilian Greenwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether any compensation is payable by his Department or Network Rail to Hitachi Rail Europe under the contracts between those bodies in the event of delay to the commencement of Intercity Express Programme train testing on the Great Western Main Line or the East Coast Main Line.

Claire Perry: Compensation is payable by the Department to Agility Trains in the event of an unavoidable delay to train acceptance caused by a failure by Network Rail to deliver the necessary infrastructure in time for train testing on the Great Western or East Coast Main Lines.

Invalid Vehicles

Mr Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the appropriateness of the current system for licensing sellers of mobility scooters.

Mr Robert Goodwill: There has been no assessment of the appropriateness of the current system for licensing sellers of mobility scooters. Many of the dealers and suppliers who sell mobility scooters, are members of the British Healthcare Trades Association (BHTA) and, as such have to follow the BHTA Code of Practice.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Mrs Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what modelling work his Department has undertaken on road traffic flows and displaced traffic during the construction period of High Speed 2 Phase 1; and if he will publish such work.

Mr Robert Goodwill: HS2 Ltd has assessed the traffic and transport impacts of the HS2 Phase One Proposed Scheme (during its construction and operation) in the project’s Transport Assessment. This was published as an appendix to the Phase One Environmental Statement in November 2013 (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/hs2-phase-one-environmental-statement-volume-5-traffic-and-transport/hs2-phase-one-environmental-statement-volume-5-traffic-and-transport). The modelling methodology, including how displaced traffic is taken into account, is explained within the Transport Assessment.

Invalid Vehicles

Mr Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with representatives of the insurance industry on products that might be offered to drivers of mobility scooters and how such products could be used to promote safety.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The Vnuk judgement concerned a case before the European Court of Justice about a man (Mr Vnuk) who was injured when he was knocked off a ladder by a trailer that was attached to a tractor in a barn in Slovenia. The effect of the judgment is that any vehicle that falls within the Motor Insurance Directives’ definition of a vehicle should have a compulsory motor insurance policy. The definition of vehicle in the Directives is very wide. We are working closely with insurers, and others to identify how the ruling in the Vnuk case should be applied to a range of vehicles, including mobility scooters. We will shortly be meeting with relevant stakeholders to discuss the particular issues that apply to those using mobility scooters. We will, of course, consult before making any changes and we are determined to get a sensible outcome.

SEAT

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, further to the Answer of 8 January 2015 to Question 219781, for what reason action was not taken against SEAT UK for failing to submit a completed V5C/3 form.

Claire Perry: The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) did not take action against SEAT UK in 2007 because enforcement action in such cases was not always taken, unless it was also connected to a vehicle excise duty offence. Since 2012, if a registered keeper fails to notify the DVLA in writing that they have disposed of a vehicle and someone applies to become the new keeper, the DVLA will automatically issue an enforcement letter.

Invalid Vehicles

Mr Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will review the specificity of conditions for the eligibility to use mobility scooters.

Mr Robert Goodwill: There are no plans to review the specificity of conditions for the eligibility to use mobility scooters. Eligibility to use mobility scooters is defined by Section 20 of the Chronically Sick and Disabled Persons Act 1970.

Railways

Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many people received criminal convictions for breaching a railway byelaw under Schedule 20 of the Transport Act 2000 in (a) 2014, (b) 2013 and (c) 2012.

Claire Perry: The British Transport Police have provided the table below which shows the number of offenders who have been convicted for breaching Railway Byelaw offences 1-23 for calendar years 2012, 2013 and 2014.  201220132014Number of offenders convicted for breaching a Railway Byelaw offences 1-23199236153

Invalid Vehicles

Mr Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions he has had with representatives of disabled people's charities on uptake of mobility scooters in the UK.

Mr Robert Goodwill: No recent discussions have taken place. However, the Government commissioned research into who uses mobility scooters and trends in their usage. The 2014 report ‘Mobility Scooters: a market study’ was carried out by the Research Institute for Consumer Affairs (RICA). The latest estimate is that there some 350,000 mobility vehicle users in the UK.

Invalid Vehicles

Mr Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on the potential merits of making information about qualification for disability benefits available to agencies responsible for ensuring safety on the roads in respect of mobility scooters.

Mr Robert Goodwill: There have been no discussions on the potential merits of making information about the qualification for disability benefits available to agencies responsible for ensuring safety on the roads, in respect of mobility scooters.

A483 and A55

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the (a) original and (b) revised timetable is for works carried out at the junction of the A483 and A55 roads in West Cheshire.

Mr John Hayes: The original timetable for the works had a programmed completion date of 31 March 2015. In the current timetable this date has been revised to 10 May 2015. This slippage is due to adverse weather, and problems encountered with drainage and bridge strengthening works. The Agency has been assessing with its contractors how the remaining work can be completed to the original programme and will make every effort to complete the works as soon as possible.

A483 and A55

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will carry out an urgent assessment of the quality of the work carried out at the junction of the A483 and A55 supervised by the Highways Agency.

Mr John Hayes: The Highways Agency holds regular review meetings and challenges all aspects of project delivery of the scheme at the junction of the A483 and A55 including such aspects as programme and quality. The scheme is supervised on the ground by the Agency’s maintenance contractor who ensures quality standards are achieved and supervisors check and challenge all aspects of the works to ensure that workmanship, materials and methods of construction meet the required Agency standards. The Agency requires its contractors to operate under a quality management system that complies with ISO9001 and any defects or failures in quality will be addressed under this process.

Roads: Accidents

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what information his Department holds on the number of road traffic incidents in which a vehicle was damaged and a pedestrian or cyclist was at fault in each of the last three years.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The Department only holds information on accidents involving personal injury. The number of reported personal injury road accidents where a contributory factor was allocated to a pedestrian or pedal cyclist is given in the tables below.   Number of reported personal injury road accidents where a contributory factor1 was allocated to a pedestrian: GB, 2011-2013 201115,185 201214,454 201313,481   1 Includes only injury accidents where a police officer attended the scene and in which a contributory factor was reported. Number of reported personal injury road accidents where a contributory factor1 was allocated to a pedal cyclist: GB, 2011-2013 20117,02820126,52220136,6991 Includes only injury accidents where a police officer attended the scene and in which a contributory factor was reported. The figures for pedal cyclists will include accidents where the road environment contributed e.g. the road was slippery due to the weather and therefore may not be the fault of the pedal cyclist. Data for 2014 is not available.

Blue Badge Scheme

Michael Dugher: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many people were registered for the Blue Badge scheme in (a) 2013-14 and (b) 2014-15 to date.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The Department does not hold data on the number of people who have registered for the Blue Badge scheme. The Department collects statistics on the number of valid Blue Badges on issue and issued to eligible people and organisations. The table below shows the total number of Blue Badges on issue in England as at 31 March in 2013 and 2014. The Department does not hold data for 2015. Valid Blue Badges on issue: England, 2013 and 2014120132014   Valid Blue Badges on issue (million)2.572.45  1 As at 31 March in each year   These results are published in table DIS0101, available at:https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/397062/dis0101.xls

East Coast Railway Line

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with Virgin Trains and Stagecoach on the East Coast Rewards Scheme; and what representations he has received on this matter.

Claire Perry: All bidders were provided with information about the existing loyalty scheme to enable them to prepare their proposals for the new franchise.   Virgin Trains East Coast will be rolling out a new rewards scheme. Nectar will replace the existing Rewards scheme.   Whilst the existing Rewards scheme closed on 28 February, existing Rewards Points can be redeemed up to and including 30 September 2015 against the current range of rewards. Alternatively, existing Rewards members can choose to convert their Rewards Points into Nectar Points.

Home Office

Asylum: Syria

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people have been referred to her Department by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees for resettlement in the UK through the Syrian Vulnerable Persons Relocation scheme to date.

James Brokenshire: As of 31 December 2014, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees had referred 260 people for consideration under the Syrian Vulnerable Persons Relocation (VPR) scheme. This data has not previously been published, is based on management information only, and has not therefore been subject to the detailed checks that apply to National Statistics publications. In the same period to 31 December, as already published through the quarterly release of Home Office statistics, 143 people had arrived in the UK under the VPR scheme.

Illegal Immigrants

Charlie Elphicke: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many non-UK citizens attempting to enter the UK illegally were apprehended by UK border control agencies at the ports of (a) Dover and (b) Calais in (i) 2013-14 and (ii) 2014-15.

James Brokenshire: To ensure the integrity and security of the UK border Her Majesty’s Government does not comment on port specific statistics.

Illegal Immigrants

Charlie Elphicke: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, in what locations non-UK citizens attempting to enter the UK illegally were apprehended in (a) 2013-14 and (b) 2014-15.

James Brokenshire: To ensure the integrity and security of the UK border Her Majesty’s Government does not comment on port specific statistics.

Immigration

Ian Paisley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the minimum income threshold of £18,600 set for migrants will apply to parts of the UK for which the average wage is below that level.

James Brokenshire: The minimum income threshold of £18,600 for sponsoring a non-European Economic Area national partner to come or remain here applies across the UK under the new family Immigration Rules implemented on 9 July 2012. The level of the income threshold, which aims to prevent burdens on the taxpayer and promote integration, was set following advice from the independent Migration Advisory Committee and reflects the income at which a family settled here generally cannot access income-related benefits. The Committee, in its November 2011 report, could see no clear case for differentiation of the income threshold between UK countries and regions and noted several arguments against such an approach. These included that a family living in a wealthy part of a relatively poor UK country or region could be subject to a lower income requirement than a family living in a deprived part of a relatively wealthy one. The Government continues to agree with that assessment and a single income threshold across the UK has been found to be lawful by the courts.

Passports

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what representations the Government has received on the practices of UK Services and Support Ltd in relation to charges for passport applications; and what steps have been taken in response to those representations.

James Brokenshire: Holding answer received on 27 February 2015



HM Passport Office (HMPO) received 6 complaints during the period 2014 to 2015 relating to the passport services offered on the website provided by UK Services and Support Limited. HMPO, in conjunction with the Cabinet Office Digital Service, is working with the Office of Fair Trading, the Advertising Standards Authority, search engine providers and various trading standard bodies to curtail the activities of websites that advertise their services in a way which may be misleading to the public. HMPO has specifically worked with Google for sponsored adverts from third party websites to be taken down and not to appear above the natural search results.

Asylum

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many further submissions under rule 353 of the Immigration Rules were made in each of the last seven years.

James Brokenshire: The information requested is as follows:YearFurther Submissions2008 6,266 2009 14,107 2010 28,971 2011 14,657 2012 11,164 2013 9,873 2014 9,598 Grand Total94,636

Asylum

Mr David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the arrangements to send out the status letter, biometric residence permit, National Insurance number and the NASS35 form simultaneously to people newly-granted refugee status.

James Brokenshire: Consideration has been given to sending all of these documents to newly-granted refugees' simultaneously, however there are currently practical obstacles in doing so. Officials have been engaged with external stakeholders and colleagues in the Department for Work and Pensions on this issue and are working on further refining operational procedures.

Borders: Personal Records

Mr David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, for what proportion of people departing the UK was matching API data recorded in each year since 2010.

James Brokenshire: The Home Office collects Advance Passenger Information for passengers who travel to the UK on routes connected to the Semaphore system. Advance Passenger Information is also provided by a proportion of carriers for passengers departing the UK. The estimated proportion of passengers travelled from the UK on routes connected to Semaphore in each year is in the following table. Due to the ongoing legal arbitration between the Home Office and Raytheon it is not possible to disclose coverage data for 2010.  Period Coverage2009 57%2010 N/A2011 64%2012 67%2013 79%2014 81%

Entry Clearances: Overseas Students

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what her policy is on renewing the visa concession for Syrian internationals studying at UK higher education institutions.

James Brokenshire: The Government is deeply concerned about the conflict in Syria, and we are committed to helping people affected by the crisis.Given the continuing violence and displacement in Syria, we have now renewed our immigration concession which helps Syrian nationals who are in the UK legally to extend their stay here more easily. We have renewed the concession for a further 12 months, until 28 February 2016. I made a written ministerial statement to that effect on 26 February 2015. The Government first introduced the Syrian immigration concession in October 2012 in response to the crisis, and has previously renewed it in February 2013 and again in February 2014. Under the renewed concession, Syrians in the UK with valid leave (or leave which has expired within the last 28 days) in specified visa categories will continue to be able to apply to extend their stay in that visa category, or switch into a different specified category from within the UK (with some restrictions) rather than being required to return home first. Those applying still need to meet the requirements of the relevant visa category, pay the appropriate fee, and adhere to the normal conditions of that category – no access to public funds, for example. If a required document is not accessible due to the civil unrest in Syria the Home Office may apply its discretion and the requirement to provide that document may be waived where appropriate.

Asylum: Liverpool

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what consultation her Department carried out with Liverpool City Council in advance of the recent decision by her Department to make Liverpool the place failed asylum seekers must go to lodge their final appeals.

James Brokenshire: Holding answer received on 27 February 2015



The new process applies only to failed asylum seekers whose claims have already been carefully considered by UK Visas and Immigration and had their cases examined and found by the independent courts not to need protection or have any other basis to stay in the UK. It is not an appeals process.The decision to centralise this work in Liverpool was taken to significantly improve customer service and speed up decision making, enabling UKVI to grant protection more quickly to those who need it and remove those who have no right to be here. These changes represent an extension of the Further Submissions Unit in Liverpool, which has been successfully dealing with Further Submissions for pre 2007 cases for at least five years, at times in far higher numbers than we envisage will be generated from this work. The Older Live Cases Unit in Liverpool, including the Further Submissions team, achieved Customer Service Excellence last year, and received positive feedback from many applicants and stakeholders.As this was an extension of a pre-existing service, with no identified impact on the City of Liverpool or its services, no reason for consultation was identified. We also believe that early public consultation would have led to a rush of further submissions. As a courtesy we have paused implementation to discuss further with the Council and address their concerns.

British Nationals Abroad: Armed Conflict

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what information her Department holds on in what locations British citizens are fighting conflicts abroad; and what estimate she has made of the number of citizens in each such destination.

James Brokenshire: While we do not routinely record the purpose of individuals journeys when leaving the UK, we estimate that there are around 600 subjects of interest, to the security services, who have travelled to the region of the Syria/ Iraq conflict from the UK. The Government has consistently advised the public against all travel to Syria and parts of Iraq: anyone who travels to these areas is putting themselves in considerable danger.

Asylum

Mr David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the average time is for people granted refugee status from discontinuation of S95 support to the start of mainstream benefits.

James Brokenshire: The Home Office does not hold the information requested. Once an asylum seeker has been granted refugee status they are entitled to apply for mainstream benefits through the normal processes like any other applicant. The Department for Work and Pensions does not separately record those that have been granted refugee status.

Asylum

Mark Lazarowicz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 27 January 2015 to Question 222300, when she plans to announce the content of the inserts to be made by Member States in the Directive identifying the national authority to which appeals and reviews must be lodged and the time limits for doing so; which that national authority is; and what the time limits are.

James Brokenshire: The Dublin Implementing Regulation (EU) No. 118/2014 is designed to ‘increase the efficiency of the Dublin system and improve the cooperation between national authorities’ by ensuring the ‘effective application’ by Member States of the Dublin III Regulation (EU) No. 604/2013 in practice. As part of that intent Article 4 of the Dublin Regulation concerns the provision of information to applicants, including the use of common leaflets. Many States, including the UK, are currently experiencing technical issues with the leaflets, delaying their implementation. However the necessary information they contain is provided to applicants by other means at relevant points during the consideration process. In particular, information about the possibility to challenge a decision to transfer a case to another signatory state under the Dublin III Regulation, the national authorities to which appeals and reviews are to be lodged and the relevant time limits are provided to applicants in the papers accompanying the transfer decision.

Offenders: Foreign Nationals

Mr Ian Davidson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the preventative and early intervention measures trialled in the foreign national offenders action plan.

James Brokenshire: Holding answer received on 27 February 2015



This government is the first to have a strategy to remove foreign national offenders.Last year, this Government removed 5,097 foreign national offenders, and we have removed over 22,000 FNOs since 2010. We have already removed over 500 foreign national offenders under the 'deport now, appeal later' provisions of the Immigration Act which came into effect in July 2014. This is alongside FNOs already being removed during their early removal scheme period. In 2013/14 we removed more than 1,800 such FNOs.Additionally we have introduced Operation Nexus, a joint endeavour between the police and Immigration Enforcement officers, leading to the removal of over 3,200 individuals, joined the Schengen Information System (SIS II), extended the use of checks of overseas criminal information and are working with the Ministry of Justice to implement compulsory prisoner transfer agreements within the EU.

Offenders: Foreign Nationals

Mr Ian Davidson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what comparative assessment her Department has made of the costs of managing foreign national offenders in (a) Scotland and (b) the UK.

James Brokenshire: Holding answer received on 27 February 2015



The Home Office has not made a comparative assessment of the costs of managing foreign national offenders in (a) Scotland and (b) the UK.

Offenders: Foreign Nationals

Mr Ian Davidson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department has taken to develop and standardise its approach to Foreign National Offenders casework since May 2010.

James Brokenshire: Holding answer received on 27 February 2015



Last year, this Government removed 5,097 foreign national offenders, and wehave removed over 22,000 FNOs since 2010. The Government introduced the Immigration Act (2014) which allows us to serve quick decisions, earlier in the process. It places the emphasis on the foreign criminal giving us information at the outset. This is a fundamental change in the process and we have already removed over 500 foreign national offenders underthe 'deport now, appeal later' provisions of the Act. The Act also introduced new powers to prevent criminals using family life arguments to delay their deportation. We have also introduced Operation Nexus which is a joint initative between Immigration Enforcement and police forces. Nexus identifies offenders that are foreign nationals at the point of arrest and allows Immigration Enforcement to consider those criminals for administrative removal or deportation. This has contributed to the removal of over 3,200 individuals so far.

Ministry of Defence Police: Berkshire

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 29 January 2015 to Question 222334, by what date the documents will be placed in the Library.

Mike Penning: The IPCC will write to the Hon. Member within the next two weeks to explain that the Ministry of Defence Police (MDP) is investigating this matter locally and it would not be appropriate for the IPCC to provide information about the local investigation, hence he will need to write to the MPD to obtain more information. I will place a copy of the letter in the Library of the House.

Asylum

Mr Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the performance of Serco in providing accommodation and transport services for asylum seekers under the Compass contract.

James Brokenshire: The COMPASS contracts contain robust provisions to ensure that providers meet the contractual standards relating to the provision of accommodation and transport.The Home Office works closely with Serco to continually monitor the compliance processes to ensure that accommodation remains of an acceptable standard. Serco has invested significantly to update its property portfolio and transportation service and now routinely achieves the standards of accommodation and transport required within the contract.Serco faced some difficulties in the second half of 2014 which necessitated the use of contingency accommodation. The Home Office continues to work closely with Serco to ensure that they can source sufficient volumes of accommodation to meet the demands of the contract.

Asylum: Appeals

Dr Julian Huppert: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 5 January 2015 to Question 218892, what average length of time it takes for her Department to grant a visa after a decision is taken not to appeal a decision of the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal.

James Brokenshire: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Sexual Offences

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many sexual harm prevention orders and sexual offences prevention orders were issued in each of the last five years; and how many such orders were made after a request from a Chief of Police under section 104(5) of the Sexual Offences Act 2003.

Mike Penning: Sexual harm prevention orders were introduced by the Anti-Social Behaviour, Policing and Crime Act 2014, and will come into force very shortly. The Home Office does not collate figures on the number of sexual offences prevention orders imposed by the courts. However, figures for the period from 2009 to 2014 are contained in the annual Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements report, published by the Ministry of Justice on the Gov.uk website. The latest report covering the period from April 2013 to March 2014 is available at:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/multi-agency-public-protection-arrangements-mappa-annual-reports-2013-14

Human Trafficking

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many (a) prosecutions and (b) convictions there were for human trafficking offences in 2014; and how many such cases involved a victim who was a child.

Karen Bradley: Prosecution and conviction data for human trafficking offences for 2014 has not yet been published. The data is expected to be published in May 2015. The data for 2013 is in the table below.The Crown Prosecution Service does not separately record the number of cases where the victim was a child. 



Table 225481
(Word Document, 33 KB)

Sexual Risk Orders

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people are subject to sexual risk orders in each police force area.

Mike Penning: Sexual risk orders were introduced by the Anti-Social Behaviour, Policing and Crime Act 2014, and will come into force very shortly

Meat: Smuggling

Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Border Force sniffer dogs operate at (a) Heathrow Airport and (b) other airports and seaports in the UK to detect illegally imported meat.

James Brokenshire: Border Force currently has four detector dogs in use at ports and airports in Great Britain trained to detect meat and other animal products illegally imported from non EU countries. This number can fluctuate as dogs are replaced through ill health or retirement and new dogs and handlers are trained.The dogs are deployed on a mobile and flexible basis according to risk and where they will have the most impact. They are deployed at key border locations such as Heathrow Airport and can be utilised at any port, airport or other point of entry into Great Britain.The Department of Agriculture and Rural Development in Northern Ireland is responsible for detecting illegal imports of meat and other animal products at ports and airports in Northern Ireland.

Offenders: Foreign Nationals

Mr Ian Davidson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what measures her Department has put in place to track foreign national offenders upon release back into the community since May 2010.

James Brokenshire: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Drugs

Mr David Burrowes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the UK's policy will be on substantial changes to the international drugs control regime at the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs in Vienna in March 2015.

Lynne Featherstone: The Coalition Government and our strategic international partners do not support substantial change to the UN drug control conventions.The Conventions provide a robust framework for tackling the harms caused by drugs. We continue to work with our partners to promote a balance and evidence-based international approach to drugs within the UN conventions.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Public Expenditure

Chris Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, with reference to page 107 of his Department's Annual Report and Accounts 2013-14, HC17, what the value is of each piece of residential land worth more than £250,000.

Mr David Lidington: The net book value of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s property (land and buildings) in the UK and overseas as at 31 March 2014 was £2,030m. This excludes property held by our Non-Departmental Public Bodies. Individual valuations per property cannot be provided as this information is commercially sensitive.

Ukraine

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent reports he has received on the situation in Ukraine; and if he will make a statement.

Mr David Lidington: The Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron) updated the House on the situation in Ukraine on 23 February. Since the ceasefire agreed in Minsk on 12 February, Russia’s illegal actions in eastern Ukraine have reached a new level, with the separatists’ breach of the ceasefire to take control of the town of Debaltseve made possible only with the supply of Russian fighters and equipment on a very large scale. The Prime Minister underlined that the ceasefire must be respected in full by both sides; heavy weapons need to be drawn back; and all parties must fully implement the agreement they committed to at Minsk. If further destabilisation by Russia occurs then sanctions will be extended and toughened.

Greece

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his German counterpart about Eurozone negotiations with the Greek government; and if he will make a statement.

Mr David Lidington: The UK takes a close interest in this. I discussed the negotiations with Germany’s State Secretary at the Ministry of Finance, Steffen Kampeter in London on 11 February. In addition, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, my right hon. Friend the Member for Tatton (Mr Osborne) attended the Ecofin meeting in Brussels on 17 February that discussed Greece’s negotiations.It is in Britain’s interest to see a stable euro area and is it vital that all parties continue to act responsibly. Her Majesty’s Government welcomes the decision by the Eurogroup on 24 February that the list of Greek reforms are sufficiently comprehensive to be a valid starting point for a successful conclusion of Greece’s review of its bailout programme. The subsequent completion of national procedures in euro area countries allows the current Master Financial Assistance Facility Agreement to be extended by up to four months.

Egypt

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking to seek the release of Alaa Abdel Fattah.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The UK Government is very concerned by the sentencing of Alaa Abdel Fattah to five years in prison, on charges of organising an illegal protest. At the time of his initial conviction in June 2014, my predecessor, the right hon. Member for Faversham and Mid Kent (Sir Hugh Robertson) made a statement in which he expressed his concern over the case. We have raised this case in our conversations with the Egyptian government and will continue to do so.The UK Government also remains concerned by the Protest Law under which Alaa Abdel Fattah was charged. Egypt’s constitution rightly demands respect for freedom of expression and association. I call on the Egyptian government to ensure that they implement these rights for Egyptian citizens, including by reviewing the Protest Law.

Apprentices

Mr Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many apprentices employed by (a) his Department and (b) its executive agencies and associated bodies are aged (i) 16 to 18, (ii) 19 to 24 and (iii) 25 years or older; and how many of those apprentices employed in each form of body and of each age group were previously employed by the Government.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The Foreign and Commonwealth has not employed any apprentices, but are in the process of recruiting five apprentices in the 19-23 year old age bracket.The number of apprentices employed by FCO Services, an Executive Agency of the FCO, is eight for the 16-18/19-24 group and 14 apprentices who are aged over 25. None of these apprentices were previously employed by the Government immediately prior to joining FCO Services.

LGBT People

Dr Eilidh Whiteford: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will appoint a special envoy with responsibility for promoting the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex people around the world.

Mr David Lidington: We do not believe that appointing a UK special envoy for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex people would be the best way to protect their rights.Given the difficulty of tackling this issue in many countries, an envoy with such a designation would most likely be unable to secure access in the very countries where the problems are most severe.We consider that it is more effective to promote the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex people through the regular engagement of Foreign and Commonwealth Office Ministers and our Embassies and High Commissions overseas. This reflects our firm belief that all human rights are universal and should apply equally to all people.

Colombia

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 28 October 2014 to Question 211346, what response the Colombian government provided to the Minister for Latin American Affairs when human rights were raised during the Minister's visit in June 2014; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Hugo Swire: During my visit to Colombia in June 2014 I met two Deputy Ministers for Foreign Affairs and the Heads of the Colombian government’s major human rights agencies. I set out the UK’s concerns regarding attacks against human rights defenders and cases of impunity for those responsible. I also handed over a list of specific cases that our Embassy in Bogotá has been monitoring. The Director of the National Protection Unit explained that Colombia has the largest protection system for human rights defenders anywhere in the world. The Attorney-General’s office confirmed that sentences for those attacking human rights defenders were rising (including sentences against servicemen). Improving the respect for human rights in Colombia remains a top priority for the government of President Santos, and the UK welcomes the progress they have made, while noting that there is, of course, still more that can be done. I am delighted to be co-hosting a Members–only ‘Dialogue on Colombia’ on 10 March, which His Excellency Mr Néstor Osorio is kindly holding at the Colombian Embassy in London. This highlights the willingness of both our governments to engage with parliamentarians on human rights issues.

Maldives

Jesse Norman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the security situation in the Maldives.

Mr Hugo Swire: We are concerned with the increasing political tensions in the Maldives and the arrest on 22 February 2015 of former President Mohamed Nasheed on charges of terrorism. I issued a statement on 26 February urging calm across the Maldives and calling for all political parties to act with moderation and restraint. I also expressed concern at the continued detention of former President Nasheed, and that it is made clear the importance for international confidence in the Maldives that Mr Nasheed, like all other citizens, is seen to be enjoying due legal process and respect for his fundamental rights. I have also raised these concerns directly with the Maldives Foreign Minister. The UK continues to coordinate with the US, Commonwealth, EU and others.

Philippines

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 12 February 2015 to Question 223612, whether he plans to meet his counterpart in the Philippines to discuss climate change.

Mr Hugo Swire: I have no immediate plans to meet my Philippines counterpart. However, there is ongoing dialogue with the Philippines on this issue, including regular contact through our Embassy in Manila, and with the Philippine delegates to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Climate change has also been discussed during senior British visits to the Philippines - for example when Sir Simon Fraser, the Permanent Under Secretary to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, visited in December 2014, and when Sir David King, Special Representative on Climate Change, visited in February 2014.

Palestinians

Mr Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the extent to which Hamas is attempting to rebuild its terrorist infrastructure in the Gaza Strip.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: We hold regular discussions with Palestinian, Israeli and international contacts on the issue of Hamas’ capability. We have assessed that Hamas are seeking to rebuild infrastructure, including the tunnel network, in Gaza.

Attorney General

Apprentices

Mr Chuka Umunna: To ask the Attorney General, how many apprentices employed by (a) the Law Officers' Departments and (b) its executive agencies and associated bodies are aged (i) 16 to 18, (ii) 19 to 24 and (iii) 25 years or older; and how many of those apprentices employed in each form of body and of each age group were previously employed by the Government.

Mr Robert Buckland: As at 31st January 2015 the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) employed 140 apprentices. A breakdown by age category is shown in the table below.   Age BandHeadcount16-181819-2410325+19Grand Total140 The CPS does not centrally record how many of these apprentices were previously employed by the Government. To obtain this information would require a manual check of application forms which would incur a disproportionate cost.   There are currently three apprentices working in the Serious Fraud Office and two in the remaining Law Officer’s Departments, however in order to protect individual’s personal data we are unable to provide any details of age or employment history, as the small numbers involved could lead to individuals being identified.

Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

Procurement

Mr Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what the total value of contracts his Department has with private sector providers was in each of the last five years for which records are available.

Jo Swinson: The total value of contracts the core Department has with private sector providers is set out in the table below. Records prior to April 2011 are not available.   2011-12£144.2M2012-13£137.0M2013-14£216.4M2014-15 (YTD)£239.8M

Apprentices

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many people aged 16 to 24 of each ethnic group applied for an apprenticeship in each employment sector in each of the last five years.

Nick Boles: As the requested table is large, I have attached a document detailing the number of apprenticeship applications made through the apprenticeship vacancy online system by ethnicity and Sector Subject Area for the 16-24 age group.   The table shows the number of applications made, not the number of individuals who have applied. An individual can make multiple applications.   Sector Subject Area breakdowns have been provided as information specific to the employment sector is not collected. Additionally, information on applications by the industry sector of the employer is available online: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/fe-data-library-apprenticeship-vacancies https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/400304/SECTOR_SUBJECT_AREAFeb15.xls 



Apprentice application statistics 16 - 24
(Excel SpreadSheet, 45 KB)

Apprentices

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many people aged 16 to 24 of each ethnic group started an apprenticeship in each of the last five years; and in what sector subject area each of those starts were for each of those ethnic groups.

Nick Boles: As the requested table is large, I have attached a document detailing the number of apprenticeship starts for the under 25 age group by ethnicity and sector subject area. 



Apprenticeship starts statistics
(Excel SpreadSheet, 30.5 KB)

Children: Day Care

Alison McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many (a) men and (b) women in further education received funding for childcare through the (i) Discretionary Learner Support scheme and (ii) Care to Learn scheme in the last academic year; and what the total amount spent on such support was in that period.

Nick Boles: Childcare funding is provided though the Discretionary Learner Support Scheme to support learners aged 20 or above who are at risk of not starting learning or not continuing learning as a result of childcare difficulties. Providers declared that spending in the academic year 13/14 was £44.3m. The Skills Funding Agency estimates that this supported around 7000 full time and 7500 part-time learners. Recent research indicates that 97% of the funding is awarded to female learners.   The Care to Learn scheme is an Education Funding Agency scheme. 39 men and 5,592 women received help with their childcare costs from the Care to Learn scheme in the 2013 to 2014 academic year. The amount spent on childcare costs in that academic year was £24,262,979. This figure covers childcare costs, associated travel payment and summer retainers (which can be paid to hold childcare places over the summer holiday period if the qualifying criteria are met).

Utilities

David Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what guidance his Department issues to utility and energy companies on the supply of information of customers to credit reference agencies; and if he will make a statement.

Jo Swinson: The Department of Business, Innovation and Skills has not issued guidance to utility and energy companies on the supply of information of customers to consumer credit reference agencies. These matters are regulated under the Data Protection Act (DPA). Compliance with the DPA is regulated and enforced by the Office of the Information Commissioner which maintains guidance relating to the Act.

BAFTA

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 23 February 2015 to Question 224087, which of those documents on BAFTA funding provide guidance on diversity issues.

Mr Edward Vaizey: Innovate UK is the UK’s innovation agency. It is the prime channel through which the Government incentivises business-led technology innovation. Its grant funding is allocated based on the merits of applications, including the economic, social and environmental impacts. Innovate UK’s terms and conditions for grant funding do not include explicit requirements in relation to diversity, but any contribution to equality of opportunity presented in a proposal would strengthen the case for funding support.

Higher Education

Jesse Norman: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how an institution can become a designated institution under section 129 of the Education Reform Act 1988.

Greg Clark: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Environmental Protection: South West

Mr Ben Bradshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps his Department is taking to encourage innovation in low carbon technology in the South West of England; and if he will make a statement.

Matthew Hancock: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Students: Loans

Dr Julian Huppert: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will make it his policy to increase the level of student maintenance loans in areas where the cost of living matches or exceeds the London average to the level of such loans in London.

Greg Clark: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Working Mothers: Breastfeeding

Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of introducing a statutory right for mothers to take breaks for breastfeeding in the workplace.

Jo Swinson: The Government encourages breastfeeding and recommends employers enable women to breastfeed as a matter of best practice.   The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) is conducting research on pregnancy and maternity-related discrimination and disadvantage in the workplace; which includes the experiences of mothers returning to work from maternity leave. This research will identify the number of mothers who would like to breastfeed or express milk in the workplace but do not; either because they are not allowed to, or because they think they would not be allowed to. These results will help to assess the scale of unmet demand from mothers to take breaks for breastfeeding in the workplace. The research results will be published in due course.   Alongside the new entitlement to shared parental leave the Government will continue to work with employers to highlight the business benefits of supporting breastfeeding; and promote best practice and guidance. BIS will continue to keep under review the evidence around this issue.

Minimum Wage

Mr Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many employers were publicly named by the Government for non-compliance with the National Minimum Wage in each of the last five years.

Jo Swinson: In the last five years the Government has named: YearNumber of employers named for non-compliance with the National Minimum Wage2015 to date107201455201302012120110   In total these employers owed workers a total of over £476,000 in arrears and have been charged financial penalties totalling over £181,000.   On 1 October 2013 the scheme was simplified to make it easier to name more employers that do not comply with National Minimum Wage legislation.   Naming and shaming is an additional deterrent to employers who would otherwise be tempted not to pay the national minimum wage. Any worker who is concerned that they have not been paid the minimum wage should call the Pay and Work Rights Helpline on 0800 917 2368. HMRC respond to every complaint.

Department for International Development

Apprentices

Mr Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how many apprentices employed by (a) her Department and (b) its executive agencies and associated bodies are aged (i) 16 to 18, (ii) 19 to 24 and (iii) 25 years or older; and how many of those apprentices employed in each form of body and of each age group were previously employed by the Government.

Mr Desmond Swayne: DFID does not currently participate in the Civil Service Apprenticeship Scheme. However, DFID is involved in Civil Service work experience opportunities for those who are not in employment, education or training and the following initiatives:   · Civil Service Generalist Fast Stream · Whitehall Internship Programme (2 week work experience) · Whitehall Event for Year 9 Student · Informal Internships · Summer Diversity Internship Programme · Work experience Placements with Job Centre Plus

Sierra Leone

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what contributions her Department has made to rehabilitating former combatants in the civil war in Sierra Leone; and if she will make a statement.

Mr Desmond Swayne: DFID support to the re-integration of former combatants from Sierra Leone took place in two ways. In the first phase 1999 to 2001/02, DFID made contributions to the World Bank managed Multi Donor Trust Fund. Along with other donors, DFID funds were specifically targeted at re-integration activities, including vocational and skills training, medical assistance, psychosocial support and a re-integration allowance of US$300 per individual. By the time the DDR Trust Fund had ended, it was estimated that over 70,000 ex-combatants had benefitted from the Trust Fund.  From 2002 to 2006, DFID implemented a Reintegration and Rehabilitation Programme in Sierra Leone that focused specifically on rebuilding communities and re-integrating ex-combatants into society, through a community based approach.

West Africa: Ebola

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what recent reports she has received on the Ebola outbreak in West Africa; and if she will make a statement.

Justine Greening: The Department for International Development is leading the Government’s operational response in Sierra Leone. To date, the UK has committed £325 million to eradicating the disease in Sierra Leone. With UK help, Sierra Leone now has enough treatment and isolation beds for Ebola patients, enough laboratories to test for the virus quickly and effectively, enough trained burial teams to make sure bodies are buried quickly, safely and with dignity, and a command and control structure that is making the Ebola response more efficient and effective.   I welcome reporting by the World Health Organisation that the number of new cases of Ebola in Sierra Leone has fallen dramatically in recent weeks. From a peak of 537 cases in late November, most recent reporting was 63 cases at the end of February. It is clear that our strategy is working and we must continue our focus on getting to zero cases as quickly as possible.

Commonwealth

Mr Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what plans she has to promote the achievements of the Commonwealth Local Government Forum, Commonwealth of Learning and Commonwealth Scholarships and Fellowships programme; and if she will make a statement.

Mr Desmond Swayne: DFID continues to support and promote the important work of these Commonwealth organisations.   DFID is the UK government member of the Commonwealth Local Government Forum (CLGF) and supports their programmes to strengthen local democracy and improve local government service delivery in Southern Asia, Western Africa and Southern Africa. We are also working with the CLGF on their plans for their annual conference in June 2015.   The DFID Head of Education Profession plays an important role as the UK Board member for the Commonwealth of Learning (COL) and we continue to work closely with COL to help the promotion of their work at the forthcoming Commonwealth Conference of Education Ministers in June 2015. DFID is also funding an evaluation of COL’s work in learning for development from 2006 to 2015 which is designed to help improve its future impact in Commonwealth developing countries.   The Commonwealth Scholarship Commission is a Non-Departmental Public Body with DFID as its sponsor department. DFID continues to support the Commission in its work to manage the UK’s contribution to the Commonwealth Scholarship and Fellowship Plan, an international programme that provides over 900 scholarships and fellowships to citizens of other Commonwealth countries. As the UK’s leading scholarship programme for international development, 87% of award holders, supported in the last year have come from low or lower middle income countries with around 95% of award holders returning to influence the development of their home countries. CSC produce an Annual Report which details the scholarships and fellowships supported during the year. Their latest report for the period ending 30 September 2014 was laid in both libraries of the House in December 2014. In the build up to the Conference of Commonwealth Education Ministers in June 2015 we will be working with CSC to highlight and promote the role that UK scholarships have throughout the Commonwealth.

British Overseas Territories

Meg Munn: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how much support, and under what categories, her Department provided directly to British Overseas Territories in each of the last three years.

Mr Desmond Swayne: Information on DFID’s provisions to the British Overseas Territories is published in our Operational Plan: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dfid-overseas-territories-department-operational-plan-2014.

Department for Education

Adoption

Alison McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether the pilot allowing approved adopters to search the Adoption Register is now working.

Mr Edward Timpson: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for Birmingham, Selly Oak, on 5 January 2015 (PQ 219289). The pilot to allow approved adopters to search the Adoption Register has been delayed to ensure it is working as effectively as possible. Both the Department and the British Association of Adoption and Fostering (BAAF) are committed to the security of children’s and families’ data. This is a new service and it is crucial that we are satisfied that the system is completely secure before launching the pilot. BAAF have contacted all the agencies involved in the pilot to inform them of the current situation.

Teachers: York

Sir Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the average pay for teachers was in York unitary authority area in 2008-09 and in each year since 2008-09.

Mr David Laws: The following table provides the mean and median salaries (in cash terms) of full-time regular qualified teachers in service in publicly funded schools for York local authority and England, in each March, 2009 and 2010 and November 2010 to November 2013. The source of this information is the Database of Teacher Records (March 2009 and 2010) and the School Workforce Census (November 2010 to 2013).  YorkEnglandNovember 2013 [1]  Mean£37,500£38,100Median£37,100£36,800November 2012 [1],[2]  Mean£36,300£37,600Median£35,900£36,800November 2011 [1]  Mean£37,200£37,900Median£36,800£36,800November 2010 [1]  Mean£37,600£38,000Median£36,800£36,800March 2010 [3]  Mean£35,900£37,900Median£35,100£36,600March 2009 [2]  Mean£36,800£36,900Median£36,600£35,900[1] Source: School Workforce Census.[2] November 2013 figures exclude one large academy in York.[3] Source: Database of Teacher Records.

Children: Day Care

Alison McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many people have used employer-supported childcare in (a) the North West and (b) Merseyside in each year since 2010.

Alison McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many disabled two-year-olds have been (a) eligible for and (b) received free early years entitlement since September 2014.

Alison McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many nursery places have been available in Wirral South constituency in each year since 2010.

Mr Sam Gyimah: The Department for Education’s Childcare and Early Years Survey of Parents [1] collects information on the proportion of families using formal childcare who receive financial support from an employer. However, this information is only available at national level. I have asked Ofsted to respond using the data they hold on registered nursery places. Sir Michael Wilshaw, Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector, will write to the hon. Member, and a copy of his response will be placed in the House library. Some providers such as schools with nursery provision for children aged three or over are exempt from registration. The number of places therefore may not include the full range of early years provision available in the area.The Department’s Childcare and Early Years Providers Survey [2] collects data on all registered childcare places, including those in maintained schools and nurseries. These figures are therefore more comprehensive than the Ofsted figures; however data is only available at a national and regional level.The Department does not hold information on the number of eligible two year olds with a disability. However, all two year olds in receipt of Disability Living Allowance or with a statement or education health and care plan will be eligible. The number of two year olds taking up funded early education at January 2015 with a high level of special educational need or a disability will be published as part of the provision for children under five years of age statistical publication on 25 June 2015.[1] www.gov.uk/government/statistics/childcare-and-early-years-survey-of-parents-2012-to-2013 [2] www.gov.uk/government/statistics/childcare-and-early-years-providers-survey-2013

Schools: Buildings

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the summary report of the Property Data Survey Programme, published in January 2015, what estimate she has made of the total cost of repairs necessary to bring the school estate in England up to good condition.

Mr David Laws: The Property Data Survey was designed to give a relative view of condition need. As stated in the report, the Property Data Survey condition need we have calculated is not the cost of addressing the need in the estate but a relative weighting of the complexity of addressing different types of condition need. Calculating the total cost of addressing the need in the estate would involve taking into account other factors, such as asbestos and structural need, which are excluded from the survey. As such we do not hold an estimate of the total cost of repairs necessary to bring the school estate in England up to good condition.

Schools: Buildings

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the summary report of the Property Data Survey Programme, published in January 2015, whether the cost of maintaining, repairing or replacing a school building referred to in that report includes extra costs incurred because of the presence of asbestos.

Mr David Laws: The information collected by the Property Data Survey Programme focused on the condition of the buildings. The surveyors who visited schools as part of the programme did not record any information on the presence of asbestos. The condition need identified through the surveys does not reflect any asbestos that may be present.

Schools: West Sussex

Henry Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much funding her Department has allocated for additional school places in (a) Crawley constituency and (b) West Sussex in (i) 2013-14 and (ii) 2014-15.

Mr David Laws: Information on capital funding allocations for the creation of new school places, including for financial years 2013-14 and 2014-15, is published online at: www.gov.uk/government/publications/basic-need-allocations-2015-to-2018 West Sussex was allocated over £54 million for new school places between 2013 and 2015 (£25.5 million of basic need funding and a further £28.7 million of targeted basic need funding). This funding was allocated to West Sussex as the local authority with statutory responsibility for the provision of sufficient school places in the area.

Teachers: South East

Stephen Metcalfe: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many primary school teachers in each parliamentary constituency in the South East of England have a science degree.

Mr David Laws: The following table provides the headcount number and percentage of all regular teachers[1] in service in primary schools in each constituency in the South East with a degree in a science subject in November 2013. This is the latest information available.   Name of constituencyNumber of teachers with science degree[2]Number of teachers with a qualification recorded[3]Percentage with a science qualificationConfidence interval[4]Percentage of teachers with qualification recordedAldershot334357.6+/-2.598.6Arundel and South Downs333838.6+/-2.895.8Ashford6155111.1+/-2.697.7Aylesbury5853810.8+/-2.698.0Banbury445557.9+/-2.295.5Basildon and Billericay203795.3+/-2.392.7Basingstoke395077.7+/-2.398.4Beaconsfield424659.0+/-2.696.9Bexhill and Battle273767.2+/-2.694.7Bognor Regis and Littlehampton213386.2+/-2.697.1Bracknell445258.4+/-2.496.7Braintree324117.8+/-2.695.8Brentwood and Ongar223546.2+/-2.590.8Brighton, Kempton253736.7+/-2.594.7Brighton, Pavilion313768.2+/-2.890.2Buckingham5250810.2+/-2.698.6Canterbury3937610.4+/-3.194.5Castle Point163294.9+/-2.392.9Chatham and Aylesford324577.0+/-2.395.4Chelmsford304526.6+/-2.396.4Chesham and Amersham4942911.4+/-3.098.8Chichester434369.9+/-2.896.7Clacton172456.9+/-3.292.8Colchester314766.5+/-2.294.8Crawley325076.3+/-2.196.9Dartford334886.8+/-2.295.7Dover5042411.8+/-3.198.4East Hampshire334028.2+/-2.799.3East Surrey374238.7+/-2.798.4East Worthing and Shoreham354577.7+/-2.499.3Eastbourne293628.0+/-2.895.0Eastleigh294047.2+/-2.599.3Epping Forest183385.3+/-2.486.9Epsom and Ewell[5]314247.3+/-2.596.6Esher and Walton4741811.2+/-3.096.5Fareham333898.5+/-2.899.2Faversham and Mid Kent264046.4+/-2.496.9Folkestone and Hythe494999.8+/-2.696.1Gillingham and Rainham263986.5+/-2.494.3Gosport324067.9+/-2.698.3Gravesham294736.1+/-2.296.9Guildford293887.5+/-2.693.9Harlow274016.7+/-2.592.4Harwich and North Essex283857.3+/-2.693.7Hastings and Rye334128.0+/-2.697.2Havant373869.6+/-2.997.2Henley404598.7+/-2.695.0Horsham384708.1+/-2.597.3Hove3736910.0+/-3.195.1Isle of Wight4745510.3+/-2.888.3Lewes283129.0+/-3.296.0Maidenhead424439.5+/-2.796.5Maidstone and The Weald324257.5+/-2.596.6Maldon233277.0+/-2.890.8Meon Valley243377.1+/-2.799.7Mid Sussex404848.3+/-2.598.4Milton Keynes North576758.4+/-2.196.7Milton Keynes South597028.4+/-2.197.6Mole Valley4135511.5+/-3.394.9New Forest East4036211.0+/-3.298.4New Forest West222957.5+/-3.098.7Newbury485249.2+/-2.597.4North East Hampshire404518.9+/-2.699.8North Thanet324147.7+/-2.697.6North West Hampshire404419.1+/-2.797.6Oxford East374717.9+/-2.494.4Oxford West and Abingdon4339910.8+/-3.095.0Portsmouth North394568.6+/-2.698.9Portsmouth South253946.3+/-2.498.7Rayleigh and Wickford253836.5+/-2.592.5Reading East304277.0+/-2.495.1Reading West485049.5+/-2.693.0Reigate4841811.5+/-3.197.2Rochester and Strood415078.1+/-2.492.5Rochford and Southend East354457.9+/-2.593.1Romsey and Southampton North313359.3+/-3.198.8Runnymede and Weybridge283937.1+/-2.595.6Saffron Walden334597.2+/-2.491.3Sevenoaks4542310.6+/-2.995.7Sittingbourne and Sheppey405277.6+/-2.394.6Slough617058.7+/-2.190.2South Basildon and East Thurrock234724.9+/-1.994.6South Thanet273956.8+/-2.594.0South West Surrey5345111.8+/-3.097.8Southend West213585.9+/-2.491.1Spelthorne4639411.7+/-3.295.9Surrey Heath314147.5+/-2.594.3Thurrock345276.5+/-2.191.2Tonbridge and Malling4949210.0+/-2.696.9Tunbridge Wells244545.3+/-2.196.8Wantage475089.3+/-2.593.7Wealden344008.5+/-2.795.7Winchester384139.2+/-2.898.1Windsor333449.6+/-3.193.7Witham293558.2+/-2.894.2Witney384867.8+/-2.496.6Woking4745210.4+/-2.895.6Wokingham5949312.0+/-2.998.0Worthing West4040110.0+/-2.998.5Wycombe474879.7+/-2.697.2Total South East3,62343,3048.4+/-0.395.7Total England18,795227,5138.3+/-0.195.5   Source: School Workforce Census  [1] Includes qualified and unqualified teachers.[2] Includes teachers with a first or higher science degree but excluding those with a science PGCE where no record of a science degree exists and those with a BEd in sciences.[3] Those recorded with a qualification in any subject (the total in the sample from which the rate is calculated).[4] The range within which we can be 95% confident that the true value exists.[5] Excludes cases where the school is situated in the London region.

Schools: Social Mobility

Mr Dominic Raab: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to use state schools to encourage social mobility.

Nicky Morgan: I want to ensure all young people are prepared for life in modern Britain, regardless of background. Over the course of this Parliament, we have invested £8.8bn through the pupil premium, and introduced accountability measures to ensure it is used to improve the progress and attainment of disadvantaged pupils. Our analysis shows that the gap between disadvantaged pupils and their peers is narrowing.   We are also investing £5 million to help schools ensure that pupils develop character attributes, such as resilience and grit, which underpin success in education and employment.   Education plays a vital role in giving all young people the opportunities they deserve. That’s why we are committed to ensuring all young people can attend a good local school. One million more pupils are in good or outstanding schools than in 2010.

Sixth Form Colleges

Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether sixth form colleges can apply for academy status; and if she will make a statement.

Nick Boles: The Department for Education has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

*No heading*

Karl Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment she has made of the relative effectiveness of the different routes into teacher training.

Mr David Laws: The Department regularly assesses demand from the sector, how well different Initial Teacher Training (ITT) routes attract trainees and trainee quality by route. Sir Andrew Carter also considered this issue in his independent Review of ITT.   It is too early to carry out a final comparison of the new routes into teaching. We would need data on their trainees’ impact in the classroom, which is not yet available for our new routes. The first full cohort of School Direct trainees have, for example, only been teaching for one term.   The Department has, however, recently initiated a project to link together the School Workforce Census and 2013/14 ITT performance profiles in order to piece together teachers’ professional journeys from ITT into employment and their subsequent progression. In time, with the addition of further data, this will enable us to look at the influence of different ITT routes on teacher employment, mobility, progression and retention.

*No heading*

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent representations she has received on reforms to A and AS-levels.

Mr Nick Gibb: We are reforming AS and A levels to ensure that the qualifications equip students for higher education and to make them linear allowing more time for teaching and learning.   The department consulted last year on new AS and A level content for all subjects for first teaching in September 2016. These subjects were modern and ancient languages, mathematics, further mathematics, geography, music, dance, music, physical education, drama and theatre, religious studies. We received a total of over 6,000 consultation responses. In light of advice from Ofqual, and the A level Content Advisory Board, we have agreed to delay the introduction of first teaching of mathematics and further mathematics to September 2017.   Officials regularly discuss AS and A level reform with key stakeholders such as UCAS. We also frequently receive correspondence on AS and A level reform from students, parents, teachers and other interested parties.

Ministry of Justice

Open Prisons

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what offence each of the prisoners held in open prisons on 31 May 2014 who had previously (a) absconded or escaped from prison and (b) breached a licence condition while released on temporary licence had committed; and how long each such prisoner's original prison sentence was.

Andrew Selous: Temporary release and open conditions can be valuable tools in the resettlement of prisoners in the community but never at the expense of public safety. We conducted a fundamental review of the policy and practice of release on temporary licence (ROTL) after serious failures last year. We have already made significant changes, including the introduction in May 2014 of a ban on transfer to open prison or ROTL for any prisoner who escapes, abscond, fails to return from ROTL or commits an offence whilst on ROTL during their current sentence.Absconds and escapes have reached record lows under this Government. There are also, thankfully, few ROTL failures; only around one in a thousand releases in 2013 resulting in failure. Between April and June 2014 (the latest period for which data are available), there were a total of 69 recorded temporary release failures, 40% lower than the same quarter in 2013.The tables attached show the number of prisoners in open prisons on 30 May 2014 who had previously absconded, escaped or breached temporary release conditions, broken down by offence and length of sentence. It is not possible, except at disproportionate cost to give data for 31 May. The data in the table is derived from a one-off exercise to look in detail at those prisoners who were in open conditions on 30 May, which was conducted as part of the review of temporary release. It should be noted that the definition of “open prison” for the purposes of this exercise included some prisons operating both open and closed conditions on the same site to ensure that all prisoners with a previous abscond, escape or serious ROTL failure were identified and assessed. It is therefore possible that a number of prisoners included in the totals were actually in closed conditions at the relevant time.The change in policy for eligibility for open conditions mentioned above was not applied retrospectively. Offenders already in open conditions at that time were assessed by NOMS and the majority were allowed to remain in open conditions because of their current compliance with the regime and favourable risk assessment. However, any prisoners who were assessed to present an unacceptable risk in such conditions in light of their previous non-compliance were returned to closed prisons.



Prisoners in open prisons who previously absconded
(Excel SpreadSheet, 36 KB)

Prison Service

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, which regions ranked best and worst with regard to prison staff shortfalls in the latest period for which figures are available.

Andrew Selous: There is no specific ranking system used in regards to staffing shortfalls, which vary from month to month dependant on specific circumstances. However, at the date of the last published staffing data, 30 September 2014, the largest shortfall between benchmarked staffing level of officer grade staff and staff in post was in East Midlands region. Two regions, North East and Yorkshire and Humberside were showing as having no shortfall of officers at the latest published date. Staffing levels have been reviewed prison by prison as part of a ‘benchmarking approach’. Benchmark staffing requirements for each establishment have been agreed with the unions and the NAO has commented that the wider strategy for the prison estate is the most coherent and comprehensive for many years. It delivers efficiencies while ensuring that public sector prisons operate safely, decently and securely. It delivers efficiencies while ensuring that public sector prisons operate safely, decently and securely. Benchmarking optimises the skills of staff by introducing new ways of working and puts all prison officers in prisoner facing role. The Prison Service has been returning to large scale recruitment as the period of closures and benchmarking has been coming to an end.

Criminal Injuries Compensation

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many victims were granted compensation by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority in (a) 2013 and (b) 2014.

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people applied for compensation from the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority in (a) 2013 and (b) 2014.

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many forms or documents need to be completed by people applying for compensation from the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority.

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what costs may be incurred by a victim when applying for compensation from the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority.

Mike Penning: According to latest figures, in the financial year 2013-14 we made payments totalling more than £242m to victims of violent crime. We also aim to make our application process as simple as possible. Applicants need only complete one form when applying to Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) and we have an online application service. Those who have no access to online services, or who need additional support, can apply by phone. Depending on the nature of the claim, applicants may be asked to provide evidence to support their claim, for example: medical reports or employment information. In the last financial year 94 per cent of applicants we surveyed after receiving their decision, including people who were refused compensation, said they were happy with our service. Where necessary, CICA will ask applicants to provide basic medical evidence to support their claim. Applicants are expected to meet the cost of a medical report up to the value of £50. If additional medical information is required this will be paid for by CICA. If an applicant cannot afford to pay for the initial medical report, CICA will pay and deduct this from any award of compensation made. There are no other charges associated with making a claim. An application received in one financial year may not necessarily be resolved in the same financial year. Although we aim to make compensation payments as quickly as possible, we have a duty to the taxpayer to investigate claims properly while ensuring that the applicant gets the level of compensation they deserve. In some cases it may not be in the best interests of an applicant to finalise a claim before the long term implications of an injury can be properly assessed. Question20132014(224448)How many victims were granted compensation by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority21,846*16,238*(22449)How many people applied for compensation from the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority33,57432,297 *This is the total number of victims compensated and their claims concluded within those calendar years.

Courts: Fees and Charges

Mr Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the likely effect of the proposed increase in court fees for bringing money claims over the value of £10,000 on the ability of people on low incomes to make such claims.

Mr Shailesh Vara: 90% of money claims are for sums of less than £10,000 and will therefore be unaffected by these plans.In order to protect access to justice, a system of fee waivers is available to those unable to afford court fees. Eligibility is based on an individual’s ability to pay, and the scheme is targeted towards those in households on low incomes who are in receipt of certain state benefits. Applicants will also be subject to an assessment of the value of their disposable capital assets with a higher threshold applying to those aged 61 or over.

Apprentices

Mr Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many apprentices employed by (a) his Department and (b) its executive agencies and associated bodies are aged (i) 16 to 18, (ii) 19 to 24 and (iii) 25 years or older; and how many of those apprentices employed in each form of body and of each age group were previously employed by the Government.

Mr Shailesh Vara: It has not been possible to collate and quality assure this information in the time available. I will write to the Honourable Member when this information is available.

Offences against Children

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many (a) prosecutions and (b) convictions there were under section 14 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 in 2014.

Mike Penning: I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Ministry of Justice The Government takes very seriously all matters relating to the sexual abuse of children and the protection of society’s most vulnerable. Our laws in this area are some of the most robust in the world and we have sought to strengthen them further by changing the offence of child sexual grooming (to reduce the number of prior contacts that an adult has to have with a child before the offence can be committed from two to one) and creating a new offence of sexual communication with a child amongst other reforms. Court proceedings data for 2014, including statistics for defendants proceeded against at magistrates’ courts and found guilty at all courts of offences under Section 14 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003, are planned for publication in May 2015.

Offenders: Foreign Nationals

Mr Ian Davidson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what discussions he has had with the Home Secretary and the Foreign Secretary on the development of the foreign national offenders action plan.

Andrew Selous: Ministers from all three Departments meet regularly to discuss priority countries for FNO removals and the implementation of the cross-departmental action plan.

Coroners

Frank Dobson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what progress he has made on implementation of a 24 hour coroners system.

Simon Hughes: We want to make sure that grieving families receive the highest level of service when they are most in need, which is why we are determined that inquests are conducted quickly and consistently right across the country. It is important that coroners are flexible and accessible in the service they provide. The Government will do everything it can to encourage all coroners to make an out of hours service available and also to direct a less-invasive post-mortem where this is suitable and desired by the family. The Chief Coroner and I recently met senior figures from London local authorities and from the Metropolitan and City of London Police. We have secured their agreement to developing a pan-London out of hours coroner service which will share workloads and services and be in place as soon as possible after 31st March 2015.

Magistrates' Courts

Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to reduce delays in magistrates courts between a defendant's first appearance and their trial.

Mike Penning: Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service is working with partners across the Criminal Justice System to reduce unnecessary hearings and delay in magistrates' courts. The Transforming Summary Justice programme currently being rolled-out across England and Wales will ensure that cases set for trial in magistrates' courts are robustly case managed in advance of the trial date, reduce the number of unnecessary adjournments and increase the number of effective trials on the day. In current performance, overall, the last four years show an improvement in the time between the first listing of a case and its completion. For summary non-motoring cases, the percentage of cases completed at first listing has also increased from 62% in 2011 to 71% in the second quarter of 2014-15.

Television: Licensing

Mr Ben Bradshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much was paid in fines for television licensing offences in the (a) 2012-13 and (b) 2013-14 financial year.

Mr Shailesh Vara: This question can only be answered at disproportionate cost as it would require a manual search of all live and closed fine accounts to identify the information requested.

Department of Health

Ealing Hospital

Mr Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what information his Department holds on why information about the timetable for the closure of Ealing Hospital Maternity Unit was communicated to three trainee doctors before it was communicated to the unit's midwives.

Dr Daniel Poulter: We are advised by NHS England that Health Education North West London has recently written to a number of junior doctors who are working at Ealing Hospital. This information relates specifically to the timing of their rotations and has no connection to the Shaping a Healthier Future Programme. However, we are pleased to learn that the clinical commissioning group has apologised to the midwives concerned about the misunderstanding.

Dental Services

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what rules determine who must sign the statement of manufacture that accompanies a custom-made dental device in the UK at initial and final inspection.

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether the statement of manufacture that accompanies a custom-made dental device in the UK must be signed at initial and final inspection by a person who has received recognised training to make a device of that type.

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether the statement of manufacture that accompanies a custom-made dental device in the UK must be signed at initial and final inspection by a General Dental Council registrant.

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether the statement of manufacture that accompanies a custom-made dental device in the UK must be signed at initial and final inspection by a person qualified to authorise that statement.

George Freeman: Annex VIII of the EC Medical Devices Directive 93/42/EC, which is transposed into United Kingdom law by the Medical Devices Regulations 2002 (as amended), specifies that the statement of manufacture for custom-made devices must be drawn up by the manufacturer or his authorised representative. Amongst the information to be provided on the statement is the name of the medical practitioner or other authorised person who made out the prescription against which the custom-made device was manufactured. Article I of the aforementioned Directive defines a custom-made device as meaning any device specifically made in accordance with a duly qualified medical practitioner’s written prescription which gives under his responsibility, specific design characteristics and is intended for the sole use of a particular patient. The prescription may also be made out by any other person authorized by virtue of his professional qualifications to do so which in the case of custom-made dental devices would be a dental practitioner.

General Dental Council

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the practice of the General Dental Council in reporting possible breaches of the law by its registrants to the appropriate authorities; and if he will make a statement.

Dr Daniel Poulter: The General Dental Council is an independent body and responsible for matters concerning the discharge of its statutory duties which would include reporting possible breaches of the law by its registrants to the appropriate authorities where sufficient evidence or concern to support the claim has been provided.

Procurement

Mr Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the total (a) number and (b) value was of new Phase 3 Small Business Research Initiative contracts awarded by his Department in 2014-15 to date; and what the total (i) number and (ii) value is of such contracts it has budgeted to award in 2014-15.

Mr Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the total (a) number and (b) value was of new Phase 3 Small Business Research Initiative contracts awarded by NHS England in 2014-15 to date; and what the total (i) number and (ii) value is of such contracts it has budgeted to award in 2014-15.

Mr Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the value of new Phase 1 Small Business Research Initiative contracts which NHS England plans to award in 2015-16.

Mr Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the value of new Phase 2 Small Business Research Initiative contracts which NHS England plans to award in 2015-16.

Mr Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the value of new Phase 3 Small Business Research Initiative contracts which NHS England plans to award in 2015-16.

Mr Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the total (a) number and (b) value was of new Phase 1 Small Business Research Initiative contracts awarded by his Department in (i) 2012-13 and (ii) 2013-14.

Mr Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the planned total budget is for his Department's Small Business Research Initiative projects in 2015-16.

Mr Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the total (a) number and (b) value was of new Phase 1 Small Business Research Initiative contracts awarded by his Department in 2014-15 to date; and what the total (i) number and (ii) value is of such contracts it has budgeted to award in 2014-15.

Mr Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the value of new Phase 1 Small Business Research Initiative contracts his Department plans to award in 2015-16.

Mr Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the value of new Phase 2 Small Business Research Initiative contracts his Department plans to award in 2015-16.

Mr Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the value of new Phase 3 Small Business Research Initiative contracts his Department plans to award in 2015-16.

Mr Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the total (a) number and (b) value was of new Phase 2 Small Business Research Initiative contracts awarded by his Department in (i) 2012-13 and (ii) 2013-14.

Mr Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the total (a) number and (b) value was of new phase 2 Small Business Research Initiative contracts awarded by his Department in 2014-15 to date; and what the total (i) number and (ii) value is of such contracts it has budgeted to award in 2014-15.

Mr Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the total (a) number and (b) value was of new Phase 3 Small Business Research Initiative contracts awarded by his Department in (i) 2012-13 and (ii) 2013-14.

Mr Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the total (a) number and (b) value was of new Phase 2 Small Business Research Initiative contracts awarded by NHS England in (i) 2012-13 and (ii) 2013-14.

Mr Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the total (a) number and (b) value was of new Phase 2 Small Business Research Initiative contracts awarded by NHS England in 2014-15 to date; and what the total (i) number and (ii) value is of such contracts it has budgeted to award in 2014-15.

Mr Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the total (a) number and (b) value of new Phase 3 Small Business Research Initiative contracts awarded by NHS England was in (i) 2012-13 and (ii) 2013-14.

Mr Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the total (a) number and (b) value of new Phase 1 Small Business Research Initiative contracts awarded by NHS England was in 2014-15 to date; and what the total (i) number and (ii) value is of such contracts it has budgeted to award in 2014-15.

Mr Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the total (a) number and (b) value was of new Phase 1 Small Business Research Initiative contracts awarded by NHS England in (i) 2012-13 and (ii) 2013-14.

Dr Daniel Poulter: The table below relates to NHS England’s Small Business Research Initiative (SBRI) contracts:2012-132013-142014-15Number of Phase 1 Contracts04326Value of Phase 1 Contracts0£4.08 million£2.52 millionNumber of Phase 2 Contracts0520Value of Phase 2 Contracts0£2.99 million£18.52 millionNumber of Phase 3 Contracts080Value of Phase 3 Contracts0£6.36 million£0Total056 contracts valued at £13.43 million46 contracts valued at £21.09 million   2014-15: In addition to the above mentioned 26 Phase 1 contracts that have already been awarded, it is estimated that a further 15 Phase 1 contracts will be awarded in this financial year. It is budgeted to award a total of 41 Phase 1 contracts with a total value of £4.08 million in 2014-15.   2015-16: Budgets for 2015/16 programmes have not yet been agreed by the NHS England Board.   The table below relates to the Department of Health SBRI Contracts:2012-132013-142014-15Number of Phase 1 Contracts13230Value of Phase 1 Contracts£1.07 million£2.96 million0Number of Phase 2 Contracts0711Value of Phase 2 Contracts0£2.63 million£10.15 millionNumber of Phase 3 Contracts000Value of Phase 3 Contracts000Total13 contracts valued at £1.07 million23 contracts valued at £5.59 million11 contracts valued at £10.15 million   2012-13: In addition to the above, the Department contributed £500,000 to a Phase 2 SBRI competition that was led by the East of England Strategic Health Authority. The Department also contributed £500,000 to a Phase 1 SBRI competition that was led by the Technology Strategy Board.   2013-14: In addition to the above, the Department contributed £500,000 to a Phase 2 SBRI competition that was led by the Technology Strategy Board.   2014-15: The Phase 2 figures relate to the number and value of contracts that are being offered and not yet signed.   2015-16: The Department is currently engaged in its financial planning process and budgets for the next financial year have not yet been allocated.   In 2010, the Government set an aspiration that at least 25% of central Government procurement spend would go to small and medium enterprises (SMEs), both directly and through the supply chain, by 2015. The Department agreed its own target of 18% to contributing to the Government’s aspiration. The Department’s total as at September 2014 stands at 17.2%, the target being that at least 18% of the Department’s and its arms-length bodies’ (ALBs) spend shall be awarded to SMEs by 2015.

Apprentices

Mr Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many apprentices employed by (a) his Department and (b) its executive agencies and associated bodies are aged (i) 16 to 18, (ii) 19 to 24 and (iii) 25 years or older; and how many of those apprentices employed in each form of body and of each age group were previously employed by the Government.

Dr Daniel Poulter: Whilst the Department and its agencies do not currently have any apprentices, the Department is supportive of encouraging take up of apprentices in the healthcare sector, recognising the benefits they can bring to both healthcare delivery and to individuals seeking to pursue a career in health. We have mandated Health Education England to double the number of apprenticeships in the National Health Service and social care sectors. NHS Employers also play an important role in realising the benefits of using apprenticeship programmes to create a skilled NHS workforce and lead on a number of programmes to encourage take up across the NHS.   The Department is actively looking at the possibility of implementing the Civil Service Fast Track Apprenticeship Scheme and/or the Civil Service Operational Delivery Apprenticeship Scheme in 2015-16.   The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency is looking a starting an apprenticeship scheme as part of its future plans.   Public Health England is planning to launch an apprenticeship scheme for disabled people and the Movement to Work Scheme in the next financial year.

National Institute for Health and Care Excellence

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many statutory consultees to each technology appraisal conducted by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence in each of the last three years were (a) patient organisations, (b) manufacturers, (c) professional organisations and (d) other organisations.

George Freeman: The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has advised that the consultees for all technology appraisals over the years 2012-14 can be broken down into the specified groups as follows:   patient organisations: 83 separate patient groups manufacturers: 52 separate companies professional organisations: 93 separate professional groups other organisations: 42 separate other organisations

Midwives

Chris Heaton-Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the ratio of midwives to patients in the NHS was in each year since 2010.

Dr Daniel Poulter: The ratio of midwives to patients is not collected centrally. Annual data showing the ratio of births to midwives is collected by the Health and Social Care Information Centre and attached below for the years 2010 – 2013.   Data as at 30 September each year2010201120122013Registered full-time equivalent (FTE) midwives 20,126 20,519 20,935 21,284 Number of all births 690,513 691,739  697,598 667,620Ratio (births per FTE midwife) 34.3  33.7 33.3 31.4   There were 21,670 registered midwives on 30 September 2014 however the ratio of (all) births per FTE midwife cannot be provided as the birth data for 2014 is not yet available.   There has been an increase of 2,231 (11.1%) FTE qualified midwives since May 2010.

NHS: Negligence

Chris Heaton-Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much has been spent by the NHS on obstetrics litigation in each year since 2010.

Dr Daniel Poulter: The NHS Litigation Authority (NHS LA) handles clinical negligence claims on behalf of its members under the Clinical Negligence Scheme for Trusts (CNST). Currently, all National Health Service trusts in England are members of the CNST.   The information is shown in the following table.   Payments made by the NHS LA on Obstetrics claims, 2010-14 (as at 31 January 2015) Payment YearTotal (£)2010/11329,981,4392011/12555,619,8392012/13506,249,2762013/14459,545,214 Source: NHS LA

NHS: Sick Leave

Michael Dugher: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many sick days were taken by NHS (a) nurses, (b) midwives, (c) doctors and (d) ambulance staff in each of the last 12 months.

Dr Daniel Poulter: The number of sick days taken by NHS nurses, midwives, doctors and ambulance staff in each of the last 12 months for which data is available, is set out in the tables below.  Qualified nursing and health visiting staffQualified Midwives Full Time Equivalent (FTE) Days AvailableFTE Days SickAbsence RateFTE Days AvailableFTE Days SickAbsence RateNovember 20138,682,115401,3724.6%652,94629,7404.6%December 20138,989,853437,0054.9%676,19133,8105.0%January 20148,985,841438,6554.9%675,48734,4365.1%February 20148,144,538379,5624.7%609,74129,4204.8%March 20149,043,453397,6624.4%674,82330,1224.5%April 20148,722,491379,3684.3%652,16929,1174.5%May 20149,025,905381,5374.2%675,36330,0134.4%June 20148,725,128374,9284.3%653,68929,0044.4%July 20148,993,871395,9264.4%673,36930,8094.6%August 20148,963,577391,6674.4%672,36029,8544.4%September 20148,608,232392,5084.6%640,75230,2474.7%October 20149,061,051434,0494.8%675,85734,1415.1%   Hospital and Community Health Services Doctors (HCHS)Qualified ambulance staffSupport to ambulance staffFTE Days AvailableFTE Days SickAbsence RateFTE Days AvailableFTE Days SickAbsence RateFTE Days AvailableFTE Days SickAbsence Rate3,125,77439,2691.3%538,52430,0385.6%209,62512,6146.0%3,228,33940,6951.3%556,16137,6646.8%218,63714,8006.8%3,223,63442,6731.3%555,01238,9807.0%226,89915,3116.7%2,907,82138,5281.3%501,11534,6676.9%206,10713,8476.7%3,220,23340,1971.2%553,14936,4816.6%228,66614,7606.5%3,060,07635,9261.2%532,76435,1976.6%221,70813,9706.3%3,170,48437,7221.2%550,01836,6256.7%228,95213,4905.9%3,062,99736,7991.2%530,11334,4416.5%222,97812,9085.8%3,157,60239,1231.2%546,50534,9766.4%231,46114,6196.3%3,215,36232,5631.0%546,40936,3316.6%232,64314,2046.1%3,103,24934,3161.1%529,34834,5856.5%228,32113,8966.1%3,255,72439,0231.2%550,66837,5136.8%239,27014,4626.0%Notes:  1. While lower sickness absence figures, in general, indicate lower levels of sickness absence it should be noted that lower figures can also indicate under reporting of sickness absence. 2. Data presented is Full Time Equivalent Days Lost to Sickness Absence including non-working days. 3. Hospital and Community Health Services Doctors includes locums   Data Quality: The Health and Social Care Information Centre seeks to minimise inaccuracies and the effect of missing and invalid data but responsibility for data accuracy lies with the organisations providing the data. Methods are continually being updated to improve data quality where changes impact on figures already published. This is assessed but unless it is significant at national level figures are not changed. Impact at detailed or local level is footnoted in relevant analyses.

Northampton Hospital

Chris Heaton-Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many obstetrics litigation cases in each year since 2010 involving incidents at Northampton General Hospital are still pending.

Chris Heaton-Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much has been spent on obstetrics litigation involving incidents at Northampton General Hospital in each year since 2010.

Dr Daniel Poulter: The NHS Litigation Authority (NHS LA) handles clinical negligence claims on behalf of its members under the Clinical Negligence Scheme for Trusts (CNST). Currently, all National Health Service trusts in England are members of the CNST.   The information about spend on obstetrics litigation in relation to Northampton General Hospital NHS Trust is shown in the following table.   Payments made by the NHS Litigation Authority on Obstetrics claims for Northampton General Hospital NHS Trust from 2010 – 2014 (as at 31 January 2015)   Payment YearTotal (£)2010/113,155,6562011/122,712,0212012/132,116,7692013/14757,882 Source: NHS Litigation Authority   In relation to the number of cases outstanding, a search of the NHS LA’s claims’ database shows that there are less than five obstetrics litigation cases in total still pending involving incidents at Northampton General Hospital NHS Trust since 2010.   Where a small number of cases exists, the Department is unable to provide a specific figure or location, as the disclosure of such information could breach an individual’s confidentiality.

Nurses

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment has been made by (a) NICE, (b) Health Education England and (c) his Department of the additional number of full-time equivalent nurses needed for NHS trusts to meet NICE safe staffing guidance.

Dr Daniel Poulter: We now have over 317,500 full-time equivalent nurses, midwives and health visitors working in the National Health Service; this is 7,500 more than in 2010 and the highest level in the history of the NHS.   Safe staffing is not simply about numbers; safe staffing needs to take account of the local circumstances, skill mix and case mix to ensure the right staffing levels are available to deliver high quality and safe patient care.   To date, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has published two pieces of safe staffing guidance on nursing in adult inpatient wards in acute hospitals and midwife staffing in maternity settings.   The Department has not made any assessment of the additional numbers of staff required to meet the NICE safe staffing guidelines. It is for individual providers to consider the implications of the guidance for their staffing levels and NICE publishes a range of resources to support implementation of its guidance locally, including a resource impact commentary and a baseline assessment tool. It also endorses tools produced by other organisations that can support implementation of its guidance.   Health Education England (HEE) is responsible for ensuring sufficient staff are available to fill the jobs created, through its investment in education and training. The views of providers on the nature and number of the future workforce they intend to employ is central to HEE’s planning for how it invests its training resources.   HEE has increased the number of training commissions for adult nursing, representing a 9% increase on the previous year. For 2015-16, HEE plan to continue the growth in nursing numbers to meet safe staffing levels by commissioning 555 additional training posts, a further increase of 4.2%.This means in the two years HEE will have grown adult nursing training places by 13.6%.   The resources for NICE’s guidance on inpatient wards in acute hospitals are published on NICE’s website at:   http://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/sg1/resources

Hospitals: Parking

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the number of NHS trusts that have implemented the car parking principles he published on 23 August 2014.

Dr Daniel Poulter: This information is not collected centrally.

Eyes: Research

Ian Paisley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will increase funding for eye care research to tackle eye-related health conditions.

George Freeman: Investment in eye-related research by the Department’s National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) has increased from £7.1 million in 2009/10 to £15.6 million in 2013/14.   As a major part of its investment in this field, the NIHR has awarded £26.5 million over five years (2012-17) to the NIHR biomedical research centre at Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and University College London Institute of Ophthalmology.   Recently-approved new major NIHR investment includes a £2.2 million study of early detection of neovascular age-related macular degeneration and a £1.4 million randomised comparison of femtosecond laser assisted and manual phacoemulsification cataract surgery for adults with visually significant cataract.   The usual practice of the NIHR is not to ring-fence funds for expenditure on particular topics: research proposals in all areas compete for the funding available. The NIHR welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including eye care. These applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money and scientific quality. In all disease areas, the amount of NIHR funding depends on the volume and quality of scientific activity.

Diabetes

Ian Paisley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will introduce more specialised nursing staff for community hospitals to assist people with diabetes.

Dr Daniel Poulter: Through the Mandate, we have asked NHS England to deliver continued improvements in relation to the experience of care, including long-term conditions such as diabetes. Local healthcare organisations, with their knowledge of the people they serve, are best placed to plan and employ a workforce based on clinical need and sound evidence.   The Government recognises that diabetes specialist nurses have made a huge difference to the care and outcomes for many people with diabetes. We want to see the sorts of benefits these roles bring – improved quality of life, support with decision making, symptom management, emotional support – extended to as many people as possible. We are operating now in a time of increasing demands on the National Health Service, which is why we need to be thinking radically about the way services are structured to ensure that this sort of holistic, person-centred support is there for everyone. The Five Year Forward View, published in October 2014 by NHS England sets out some of the care models that they will be supporting in the coming years, which aim to do just this.

Parkinson's Disease: Drugs

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when Duodopa has been (a) routinely and (b) not routinely available for use on the NHS in England in each of the last five years.

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, on what dates in the last five years NHS England or its predecessor organisations have taken a decision to consult on whether to make Duodopa available for routine use on the NHS (a) internally and (b) externally.

George Freeman: Duodopa has never been routinely commissioned by NHS England.   NHS England assumed responsibility for directly commissioning specialised services in April 2013 and prior to this, responsibility for commissioning specialised services rested with the national NHS Specialised Services and the 10 regional specialised commissioning groups. Details of any consultations and commissioning decisions are not held centrally.

Parkinson's Disease: Drugs

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when the NHS Commissioning Board Special Health Authority first issued a public consultation on funding for Duodopa; what the outcome of that consultation was; and if he will make a statement.

George Freeman: NHS England has advised that it has not conducted a formal consultation process yet but has engaged with stakeholders during the process of developing its draft commissioning policy on the treatment of advanced Parkinson’s disease with Duodopa (co-careldopa) that is awaiting prioritisation later this year.

Northampton Hospital

Chris Heaton-Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the ratio of midwives to patients has been in the maternity unit of Northampton General Hospital in each year since 2010.

Dr Daniel Poulter: Information on ratio of midwives to patients is not collected centrally.   Information on the number of midwives (full-time equivalent) at Northampton General Hospital NHS Trust in each year since 2010 is included in the attached table.   There has been an increase of 2,231 (11.1%) full-time equivalent qualified midwives since May 2010. 



No. of midwives (FTE) Northampton General Hospital
(Word Document, 28.5 KB)

NHS: Finance

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what information NHS England collects on the status of individual funding requests for treatment.

George Freeman: NHS England has advised that it collects monthly data on individual funding requests (IFRs) received relating to specialised services. The data include the number of such IFRs received nationally and by each NHS England region and the programmes of care they relate to.

Medical Treatments

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what treatments are currently due for consideration through NHS England's specialised commissioning prioritisation process; what communications his Department has received on each treatment from (a) hon Members and (b) other interested parties; whether each treatment is (i) routinely and (ii) not routinely available on the NHS in England pending the outcome of the prioritisation process; what the estimated annual eligible population is for each such treatment; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Ellison: The list of treatments that are currently due for consideration through NHS England’s specialised commissioning prioritisation process and the expected number of patients to be treated each year for each such treatment is attached.   The communications the Department has received on each such treatment from hon. Members and other interested parties since April 1 2013 is also attached.   NHS England has confirmed that all the treatments listed are not routinely available on the NHS in England pending the outcome of the prioritisation process. 



Specialised commissioning prioritisation list
(Word Document, 16.58 KB)




Correspondence on specialised treatments
(Word Document, 16.98 KB)

Clinical Priorities Advisory Group

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether NHS England is continuing to consider whether to publish the minutes of meetings of the Clinical Priorities Advisory Group; what factors it is taking into consideration before making that decision; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Ellison: NHS England has advised that it is planning to publish the Clinical Priorities Advisory Group (CPAG) minutes for the meeting which took place in February. It plans to publish these minutes and others following the current NHS England consultation on the principles underpinning prioritisation in specialised services. The consultation closes on 27 April 2015 and can be found at:   www.engage.england.nhs.uk/consultation/investing-in-specialised-commissioning   NHS England has advised that it intends to routinely publish minutes of CPAG meetings in the future, and is considering how to make available minutes of previous meetings.

NHS: Finance

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, for what reasons NHS England has established screening groups to consider individual funding requests (IFRs) before a formal review by an IFR panel can take place; what information IFR screening groups require before making a decision on whether to submit a request to an IFR panel; whether decisions made by IFR screening groups can be appealed; how many IFR screening groups are in operation; what information is collected on decisions taken by IFR screening groups; and if he will make a statement.

George Freeman: NHS England has advised that screening panels are in place to ensure that individual funding requests (IFRs) not appropriate for its IFR panel to consider are screened out (e.g. those for services commissioned by clinical commissioning groups or those where the treatment is already commissioned by NHS England). For the screening to take place, a fully completed IFR request form must be submitted. The IFR request form is available at:   www.england.nhs.uk/commissioning/policies/gp/   An appeal cannot be made against the decision of a screening panel unless further information pertinent to the request becomes available. Screening panels take place every week in the four NHS England regions.   NHS England collects data centrally on the numbers of IFRs screened but this is not broken down to individual drug level.

Parkinson's Disease: Drugs

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, on what basis NHS England's Clinical Priorities Advisory Group has recommended that Duodopa should not be routinely commissioned by NHS England; what factors NHS England's Clinical Priorities Advisory Group took into consideration in reaching that recommendation; what advice NHS England's Clinical Priorities Advisory Group sought from patient representatives in reaching that decision; what process NHS England follows to allow interested parties to appeal recommendations by the Clinical Priorities Advisory Group; and if he will make a statement.

George Freeman: NHS England has advised that its Neuroscience Clinical Reference Group (CRG) carefully reviewed the clinical evidence for the treatment of advanced Parkinson’s disease with Duodopa (co-careldopa) and made a recommendation to the Clinical Priorities Advisory Group (CPAG).   CPAG accepted the CRG’s recommendation that Duodopa should not be routinely commissioned for treatment of this condition and, in turn, made this recommendation to the Directly Commissioned Services Committee of the NHS England Board. The Board committee endorsed the recommendation in June 2014.   Both patients and carers were involved in the decision-making process. There are four patient /carer representatives on the CRG, and patient and public stakeholders registered with the CRG were given an opportunity to feed in their views before the Group made its recommendations to CPAG. CPAG’s membership includes a lay chair and four patient representatives.   Further work has been undertaken on Duodopa since NHS England’s Board endorsed CPAG’s decision in June 2014 and NHS England will reconsider whether or not to commission this treatment, alongside a number of other specialised treatments, later this year.

Parkinson's Disease: Drugs

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether the existence of the draft NHS England commissioning policy on Duodopa for a cohort of patients with Parkinson's disease means that any successful individual funding requests for Duodopa must demonstrate exceptionality against that cohort.

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many individual funding requests have been (a) made to NHS England and (b) considered by an individual funding request panel of NHS England for funding for (i) any treatment and (ii) Duodopa in each month since April 2014; and how many of those funding requests for funding for Duodopa were (A) successful and (b) unsuccessful in each month since April 2014.

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether the specialised services circular issued by NHS England on 30 September 2013, ID SSC1315, on Individual Funding Requests for Clinically Urgent Treatment Outside Established Policy, remains in force; whether individual requests for treatments for which a cohort policy is in development will not be funded without evidence of clinical exceptionality; how many individual funding requests for (a) all treatment and (b) Duodopa were (i) approved and (ii) not approved under the (A) critical clinically urgent criteria and (B) urgent non-clinical criteria in each month in which that circular has been in force; if all requests made under the urgent non-clinical criteria received expert opinion from the Chair of the relevant clinical reference group within two weeks; and if he will make a statement.

George Freeman: NHS England has confirmed that, to be successful, any individual funding request (IFR) for Duodopa must demonstrate exceptionality against the cohort of patients with Parkinson's disease in NHS England’s draft commissioning policy.   Although it does not routinely commission Duodopa for the treatment of advanced Parkinson’s disease, NHS England has advised that, it will consider funding this treatment in exceptional clinical circumstances. Clinicians can submit IFRs for this treatment to NHS England on behalf of their patients.   NHS England has IFRs for all treatments/interventions were received by NHS England through the standard IFR process. 238 of these were considered by an NHS England IFR panel.   21 requests for Duodopa were received as shown in the table.   IFR teamIndicationNumber of IFRs receivedApprovedNot ApprovedMidlands and EastDuodopa303NorthDuodopa505LondonDuodopa11011SouthDuodopa202 Source: NHS England   NHS England is unable to provide monthly figures due to the small volume of requests as this could lead to the identification of individual patients.   NHS England has advised that the SSC1315 on Individual Funding Requests for Clinically Urgent Treatment Outside Established Policy has officially expired but has been maintained whilst a review is taking place regarding how such cases will be handled in the future.   It has confirmed that not all non-clinical IFRs require an expert opinion. This is only sought when it is felt that further expert opinion is required. It should be noted that Duodopa became NHS England’s responsibility from April 2014. Prior to then cases were considered by clinical commissioning groups.   Details of IFRs processed under specialised services circular SSC1315 for the period 1 October 2013 to 24 February 2015 are shown in the table:   IFR teamIndicationNumber of IFRs receivedApprovedNot Approvedcritical clinically urgenturgent non-clinicalcritical clinically urgenturgent non-clinicalMidlands & EastAll115600Duodopa00000NorthAll1312010Duodopa00000LondonAll3731330Duodopa00000SouthAll1810134Duodopa60000 Source: NHS England   Further information about NHS England’s IFR process is available at:   www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/cp-03.pdf

National Institute for Health and Care Excellence

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many attendees at each National Institute for Health and Care Excellence appraisal committee meeting convened in each of the last three years were (a) industry representatives, (b) doctors, (c) other health professionals, (d) health economists, (e) researchers, (f) patient representatives, (g) lay representatives and (h) other.

George Freeman: The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has advised that it does not classify information about appraisal committee attendees in the format requested.   Based on NICE’s assessment of attendees’ job titles, the breakdown of attendees across its four committees responsible for developing technology appraisals for the years 2012-14 was as follows:   industry representatives 6 doctors (general practitioners) 13 other health professionals 76 health economists 29 researchers 0 patient representatives 0 lay representatives 15 other 11

NHS: Finance

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will request that NHS England review its policy on individual funding requests.

George Freeman: We have no such plans. We understand that NHS England is currently reviewing its generic policies, including its interim commissioning policy on individual funding requests.

Prescriptions: Fees and Charges

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what advance warning was given to patients who were previously entitled to free prescriptions before 2002 when the NHS Business Services Authority started checking eligibility for free prescriptions.

George Freeman: Post dispensing checks were first introduced in 1999 and the penalty charge process was managed by the Patient Check Compliance Unit of the then NHS Counter Fraud and Security Management Services. From April 2005 responsibility for the collection of penalty charges was devolved to primary care trusts. The NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA), as commissioned by NHS England, assumed the responsibility for the Prescription Exemption Checking Service (PECS) from 17 September 2014.   When taking responsibility for PECS the NHSBSA initiated a communications plan which provided all English pharmacies and general practitioner practices with a supply of posters and booklets entitled ‘Claiming free prescriptions?’. The poster warns patients of the consequences of claiming free prescriptions incorrectly and directs them to the booklet for more information on eligibility, which states that medical exemption certificates are valid for five years. The poster and booklet are also published on the NHSBSA website.

Prescriptions: Fees and Charges

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many fines have been issued for claiming free prescriptions without a valid exemption certificate since the NHS Business Services Authority began checking eligibility for free prescriptions.

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many fines have been issued for claiming free prescriptions without a valid maternity exemption certificate since the NHS Business Services Authority began checking eligibility for free prescriptions.

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate his Department has made of the number of diabetic patients fined by the NHS Business Services Authority since that authority started checking eligbility for free prescriptions.

George Freeman: The Prescription Exemption Checking Service is delivered by the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) as commissioned by NHS England. NHSBSA assumed the responsibility for this service from 17 September 2014.   From 17 September 2014 to 20 February 2015 a total of 13,779 patients have paid a penalty charge in full for claiming free prescriptions without a valid exemption certificate with a further 5,504 patients opting to pay the penalty charge in instalments.   From 17 September 2014 to 20 February 2015 a total of 610 patients have paid a penalty charge in full for claiming free prescriptions without a valid maternity exemption certificate with a further 474 patients opting to pay the penalty charge in instalments.   Data is not available to indicate the number of diabetic patients who have been fined.

Heart Diseases: Children

Michael Dugher: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the relationship between the allocation of funding for children's heart disease services and (a) current and (b) forecast patient numbers.

Dr Daniel Poulter: Funding for activity for congenital heart disease is based on tariff prices as is common with many other specialised services. Monitor is responsible under the Health and Social Care Act 2012 for tariff. NHS England has advised that a small amount of the funding is negotiated locally.   NHS England is currently reviewing congenital heart services for adults and children including forecasting activity levels at a national level and is producing a regional analysis.

Autism: Children

Michael Dugher: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what (a) measures and (b) guidelines NHS England has in place to ensure quality care for children with autism in the hospital system; and when those measures and guidelines were last updated.

Norman Lamb: The Care Quality Commission’s inspection of hospitals will include assessment of whether or not children’s needs are being assessed and care and treatment delivered in line with legislation, standards and evidence-based guidance. The inspection framework for National Health Service acute hospitals for services for children and young people was last updated in October 2014. Hospital trusts are able to measure effectiveness through, for example, the Friends and Family test, the NHS National Children's Inpatient and Day Case Survey and other means of engaging with children and their families.   The guidance which the NHS should follow in ensuring the quality of care provided for children with autism in hospital is issued by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, chiefly the quality standard [QS51] on Autism, published in January 2014 and guidelines, autism: the management and support of children and young people on the autism spectrum (August 2013), which is available at https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/cg170

NHS: Standards

Michael Dugher: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the cost to his Department has been of implementing the Friends and Family Test.

George Freeman: The introduction of the Friends and Family Test (FFT) was announced in May 2012. Implementation began in April 2013 and is due to be completed by end March 2015. NHS England is responsible for implementing the FFT.   NHS service providers are responsible for funding their own implementation of the FFT as a requirement of their National Health Service contract. Information about these costs is not available centrally. NHS England has a national programme that co-ordinates implementation of the FFT. During 2013/14 and, to date, during 2014/15 the programme has spent £5,499,915. This includes work directly with NHS service providers to support and advise on implementation.   The FFT has a number of strengths against which costs need to be considered.

Diabetes

Mr Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of the patient experience of people with diabetes.

Jane Ellison: NHS England surveys capture the experiences of people with a wide range of conditions including diabetes but, with the exception of the cancer patient experience survey, they are not condition specific. As part of a forthcoming review of patient experience surveys, NHS England will consider whether it is best to collect information as it does currently or by specific conditions.   Professor Jonathan Valabhji, the National Clinical Director, has reported that last year’s Patient Experience of Diabetes Services pilot survey, which collected information from people with diabetes about their care, received very positive feedback.

Musculoskeletal Disorders

Alison Seabeck: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the workforce development strategy is for (a) GPs and (b) other healthcare professionals in the field of musculoskeletal disorders.

Dr Daniel Poulter: Health Education England commissions education for a range of healthcare professionals who care for patients with musculoskeletal disorders, for example, general practitioners, occupational health physicians, physiotherapists and nurses. The need for these staff is reflected in local and national workforce plans which are developed by providers working with Local Education and Training Boards and service commissioners.   The General Medical Council (GMC) is developing a system of credentialing areas of medical practice which would include areas not covered by existing specialty or sub-specialty curricula. This would enable doctors who have demonstrated competence in defined areas of practice to have their credentials in those areas recorded on the GMC register. Practitioners from musculoskeletal medicine have previously expressed an interest in applying the concept of credentialing to the field of musculoskeletal medicine.   The GMC will be consulting on its proposals for credentialing later this year. Subject to the outcome of that consultation, and the necessary enabling legislation, it would, in due course, be possible for authoritative bodies in the field of musculoskeletal medicine to seek approval for the establishment of a GMC recognised credential in their field.

Social Services: Veterans

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to assist wounded veterans with their care expenses.

Norman Lamb: This Government has made a clear commitment, through the Armed Forces Covenant, which we enshrined in legislation in 2011, to support members of the Armed Forces Community, which includes both serving personnel and veterans.   Social care is a devolved issue and in England has never been free and people have always been asked to make a contribution based on what they can afford. However, we know that the current system for paying for care no longer reflects the needs of today’s society which is why we are in the process of introducing the biggest reforms in over 65 years.   The War Pensions Scheme, which predates the introduction of the welfare state, provides a range of allowances in addition to the basic war disablement pension. Some of these allowances are designed to specifically pay for the ongoing care costs associated with an individual’s disability and these are paid at a preferential rate, meaning that a war pensioner does not have to use their basic war disablement pension to meet these costs or seek other benefits to cover them.   The Armed Forces Compensation Scheme that was introduced in 2005 operates differently and is therefore currently treated differently in assessing what a person can afford to contribute to the cost of their care. However, officials in the Department have been working closely with the Royal British Legion to assess how the two schemes might be aligned under the social care charging rules in future.   Alongside this we are in the process of introducing much wider reforms to how we pay for social care that will make the system fairer for everyone, including veterans. At the moment, someone who is unlucky enough to have the highest care needs can risk losing all they have to meet the cost of their care. These reforms will mean that, for the first time ever, everyone will be protected from the risk of catastrophic care costs. The proposals are currently out for consultation and can be found at www.careact2016.dh.gov.uk

Genito-urinary Medicine

Dr Sarah Wollaston: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when his Department plans to publish the review of the first year's operation of the framework for sexual health improvement in England.

Jane Ellison: The Framework for Sexual Health Improvement in England Progress Report will be published shortly.

NHS: Negligence

Tessa Munt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 5 February 2015 to Question 222678, how many claims for clinical negligence involving treatment for trigeminal neuralgia were submitted to the NHS Litigation Authority in (a) 2013 and (b) 2014.

Dr Daniel Poulter: In each of the calendar years, 2013 and 2014, less than five claims for clinical negligence involving treatment for trigeminal neuralgia were submitted to the NHS Litigation Authority.   I once again hope that my hon. Friend will understand that where a small number of cases exists, the Department is unable to provide a specific figure, as the disclosure of such information could breach an individual’s confidentiality.

Radiotherapy

Tessa Munt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 5 February 2015 to Question 222680, which NHS trusts reported the patient incidents referred to in that Answer in 2013 and 2014.

Jane Ellison: It is not possible to provide details of which trusts reported the incidents due to the small patient population for this kind of treatment and potential issues regarding patient confidentiality.

Radiotherapy

Tessa Munt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what criteria NHS England has to decide which non-commissioned hospitals providing stereotactic radiosurgery are permitted to treat NHS patients.

Tessa Munt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, by what funding mechanism NHS England pays for the treatment of NHS patients receiving stereotactic radiosurgery at non-commissioned hospitals.

Tessa Munt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, which NHS England non-commissioned hospitals providing gamma knife stereotactic radiosurgery are funded to treat NHS patients.

Jane Ellison: No non-commissioned hospitals providing stereotactic radiosurgery are permitted to routinely treat National Health Service patients outside of national policy. However, an application could be made for stereotactic radiosurgery through the individual funding request route demonstrating exceptional circumstances as to why an NHS England commissioned provider could not provide the treatment. No non-commissioned hospitals providing gamma knife stereotactic radiosurgery are funded to treat NHS patients outside of national policy.

Monosodium Glutamate

Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what representations his Department has received on the long-term effects on health of monosodium glutamate in food.

Jane Ellison: We are advised by the Food Standards Agency, which has responsibility for food safety, that they occasionally receive questions from members of the public and other interested parties about monosodium glutamate (MSG).   All food additives, including MSG, are only permitted after a safety evaluation and the legislation sets out the foods in which it can be used and the conditions of use. MSG has been reviewed by a number of independent expert committees at United Kingdom, European and international level. These committees have concluded that at current levels of use MSG does not present a risk to health.

Patients: Transport

Liz Kendall: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many contracts Arriva holds for patient transport services; and what area each such contract covers.

Jane Ellison: This information is not held centrally.   Patient transport services (PTS) are commissioned by clinical commissioning groups (CCGs). A range of different providers may provide PTS - for example, the local NHS ambulance trust, independent sector providers, or a combination of providers.   Decisions about patient transport services are a local matter and it remains up to CCGs to decide how these services are managed. It is important that CCGs have the flexibility to provide and tailor patient transport service provision for their registered population.

Asthma

Liz Kendall: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 28 October 2014 to Question 211702, how many finished hospital admission episodes with a primary diagnosis of asthma there were among people aged (a) under and (b) over 18 years in 2013-14.

Jane Ellison: The table below provides a count of finished admission episodes (FAEs) with a primary diagnosis of asthma by age for the year 2013-14.   AgeFAEs0-1725,84118+39,916Unknown97   Notes:  An FAE is the first period of inpatient care under one consultant within one healthcare provider. FAEs are counted against the year or month in which the admission episode finishes. Admissions do not represent the number of inpatients, as a person may have more than one admission within the period.The primary diagnosis is the first of up to 20 (14 from 2002-03 to 2006-07 and 7 prior to 2002-03) diagnosis fields in the Hospital Episode Statistics data set and provides the main reason why the patient was admitted to hospital.

Care Homes

Liz Kendall: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 1 July 2014 to Question 202551, how many residents of care homes had an emergency admission to a hospital in 2013-14.

Norman Lamb: Information on the number of emergency admissions from care homes to a hospital in 2013-14 is shown in the following table, alongside the total number of emergency admissions. Number of finished admission episodes for emergency admissions by source of admission in England, 2013-14 Source of admission2013-14NHS run care home (from 1 April 2004)3,541Non-NHS (other than local authority) run care home16,037All sources of admission5,415,462 Source: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), Health and Social Care Information Centre   Notes: 1. Includes activity in English National Health Service hospitals and English NHS commissioned activity in the independent sector. 2. A finished admission episode (FAE) is the first period of admitted patient care under one consultant within one healthcare provider. FAEs are counted against the year or month in which the admission episode finishes. Admissions do not represent the number of patients, as a person may have more than one admission within the period. 3. Changes to the figures over time need to be interpreted in the context of improvements in data quality and coverage (particularly in earlier years), improvements in coverage of independent sector activity (particularly from 2006-07) and changes in NHS practice. 4. FAEs recorded as "The usual place of residence, including no fixed abode" may contain a number of episodes where patients may have resided in care homes, subsequently designating it as their usual place of residence. Consequently, these episodes were not recorded as admissions from a care home. The number of times this may have occurred is unknown.

Gambling

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions he and officials in his Department have had with their counterparts in other Departments on a national gambling strategy.

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what data his Department holds on and what assessment it has made of the effects of gambling on mental health; and how much his Department spent on counselling for people with an addiction to gambling in the last 12 months.

Norman Lamb: My Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health and his officials have had no discussions with other Government departments on the subject of a national gambling strategy.   The Department has not made an assessment of the effects of gambling on mental health. We do not centrally hold information on the amount spent on counselling for people with a gambling addiction in the last 12 months.   This Government has invested over £400 million in the Improving Access to Psychological Therapy programme over the spending review period to make a choice of psychological therapies available for those who need them in all parts of England. This includes people who experience mental ill health as a result of an addiction to gambling.   Achieving Better Access to Mental Health Services by 2020, published in October 2014, articulates our ambition and the immediate actions we are taking to achieve better access and waiting times in mental health services. It includes the Improving Access to Psychological Therapies commitment of treatment within six weeks for 75% of people with 95% of people being treated within 18 weeks.

Muscular Dystrophy: Drugs

Mrs Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if the Minister for Life Sciences will hold a further meeting with families of people with Duchenne muscular dystrophy on the availability of the drug Translarna.

George Freeman: I have had a number of meetings with patients and their families, hon. Members, charities and patient groups and I am keeping in close contact via correspondence with families and campaigners on this issue and on the availability of another drug, Vimizim for the treatment of Morquio syndrome. Whilst the key decisions are for the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) and NHS England, I have also met with the manufacturers and NHS England and had discussions with NICE about ensuring as rapid a decision as possible and I am doing all I can to help those affected and get a swift resolution to this situation.

Anticoagulants

Mrs Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the reasons for the difference in the up-take of novel oral anticoagulants and the uptake projected by NICE.

George Freeman: Decisions on the prescribing of medicines are a matter for clinicians with their patients.   National Health Service commissioners are legally required by regulations to fund those anticoagulant treatments recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) in its technology appraisal guidance.   The NICE Implementation Collaborative has been established to support faster and more consistent access to NICE recommended medicines, treatments and technologies. The NICE Implementation Collaborative published a consensus statement on supporting the use of novel oral anticoagulants (NOACs) in non-valvular atrial fibrillation on 18 June 2014. The statement includes an analysis of the barriers to the use of NOACs. This is available at:   www.nice.org.uk/resource/CG180/pdf/c/cg180-atrial-fibrillation-nic-consensus-statement-on-the-use-of-noacs?id=gvyb3hjdqrcjtn6ytpwx3ydb64   NICE published its updated clinical guideline of the management of atrial fibrillation on 26 June 2014 which recommends that novel oral anticoagulants should be offered where appropriate. The latest data from the Innovation Scorecard show that uptake of the new anticoagulants across England is increasing.

In Vitro Fertilisation: West Midlands

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the number of IVF cycle procedures that were carried out by each West Midlands NHS trust in the most recent year for which figures are available.

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the number of cataract surgery procedures that were carried out by each West Midlands NHS trust in the most recent year for which figures are available.

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the number of knee replacement operations that were carried out by each West Midlands NHS trust in the most recent year for which figures are available.

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the number of hip replacement operations that were carried out by each West Midlands NHS trust in the most recent year for which figures are available.

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the number of varicose vein surgery procedures that were carried out by each West Midlands NHS trust in the most recent year for which figures are available.

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the number of breast reconstruction operations that were carried out by each West Midlands NHS trust in the most recent year for which figures are available.

Jane Ellison: No such estimates have been made.   The sum of finished consultant episodes (FCE) with a main or secondary procedure of (a) IVF cycle procedures, (b) cataract surgery procedures, (c) hip replacement operations, (d) knee replacement operations, (e) varicose vein surgery procedures and (f) breast reconstruction operations carried out by West Midlands NHS Trusts in 2013/14 is shown in the attached table. 



FCEs by West Midlands NHS Trust in 2013-14
(Word Document, 18.34 KB)

NHS: Drugs

Mrs Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps NICE and NHS England take to ensure that (a) mandatory NICE health technology assessment guidance is fully implemented by clinical commissioning groups and (b) the up-take of innovative medicines is in line with NICE's expectations.

George Freeman: National Health Service commissioners are legally required to fund drugs and treatments recommended by technology appraisal guidance issued by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) within three months of the publication of final guidance. NICE offers a range of resources to support implementation of its technology appraisal guidance at a local level that are tailored to each topic and may include resource impact assessments and clinical audit tools. NICE also employs a team of implementation consultants who work with the NHS to help to put NICE’s guidance into practice. NICE also provides the secretariat for the NICE Implementation Collaborative that is a partnership between NICE, the NHS, industry and patient groups and seeks to identify and remove barriers to implementation of NICE’s guidance. NICE is not, however, a regulator and has no remit to enforce implementation of its guidance.   We are working closely with NHS England, industry and other key stakeholders to improve the Innovation Scorecard to make it a more effective tool for identifying unjustified variation in uptake of innovative treatments in the NHS. The data from the Scorecard supports conversations between NHS England and regional/local NHS organisations about patterns of uptake across England, and for some products includes estimates of expected uptake developed by NICE on the basis of their guidance.   In addition, the Government takes the issue of ensuring rapid access to innovative therapies very seriously, which is why I have launched a major review of the pathways for the development, assessment, and adoption of innovative medicines and medical technology. This review will consider how to speed up access for NHS patients to cost-effective new diagnostics, medicines and devices, including cancer treatments and diagnostics. It will set out both short and long-term options for action by Government and relevant bodies, including NICE, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency and NHS England, to accelerate access for NHS patients to innovative medicines.

Health Services and Social Services: Greater Manchester

Mr Graham Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to his plans to devolve health and social care provision and expenditure in Greater Manchester, if he will exclude decision-making on NHS pay and conditions from those plans.

Mr Graham Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to his plans to devolve health and social care provision and expenditure in Greater Manchester, what mechanisms will be put in place to allow his Department to intervene in the event of failure of that provision.

Mr Graham Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, in which areas of health and social care provision and expenditure he plans for decision-making in Greater Manchester to be (a) devolved and (b) not devolved.

Mr Graham Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to his plans to devolve health and social care provision and expenditure in Greater Manchester, if he will take steps to ensure that future changes to NHS provision in that area, once that devolution of powers has taken place, will be subject to public consultation.

Mr Graham Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to his plans to devolve health and social care provision and expenditure in Greater Manchester, what safeguards he plans to put in place to ensure minimum standards of care and treatment within NHS services in that area remain when that devolution of powers has taken place.

Norman Lamb: This is a genuine and historic partnership between local organisations in Greater Manchester, with general practitioners as clinical leaders working with elected leaders to improve services for people living in the area.   These proposals, welcomed almost universally, build on Greater Manchester’s long history of collaboration which has provided evidence of how joint working can support improvements to all public services. They also build on this Government’s focus on innovation and integration between health and social care services, set out in the Care Act 2014, Health and Social Care Act 2012, the devolution of public health budgets to local authorities and the Better Care Fund. It is also a major step forward in delivering the Five Year Forward View published by NHS England.   The NHS bodies involved, including NHS England and the relevant clinical commissioning groups (CCGs), will remain accountable for the exercise of their functions. The Secretary of State’s powers of intervention in the case of failure in relation to NHS England, and NHS England’s similar powers in relation to CCGs, will remain as now.   During 2015/16 funding arrangements will not change. However from April 2016, CCGs, local authorities and NHS England pool even greater resources to allow integrated, local decision-making. There may be some exceptions to the services and funding streams which are in scope but this detail is being worked through between the local partners. The fundamental national policies, inspection regimes, guidance and regulations will continue to apply to Greater Manchester but, in line with the Five Year Forward View, Greater Manchester will exercise greater freedom in how they are implemented so that local services better reflect the priorities of local patients and service users.   There are legal duties on NHS England to consult before entering into the partnership arrangements on which Greater Manchester’s plans are based. There are also wider legal duties on National Health Service commissioners to consult and involve patients and the public in their plans. These duties will continue to apply and consultations will be brought forward in due course. Guidance is explicit that commissioners should also fully engage with providers when developing plans for service changes.   Employers in the NHS are already free to determine pay and conditions for their staff. They may choose to use national contracts or to adapt these locally. NHS staff’s employment contracts are protected by employment law in the same way as for other employees.

Ministry of Defence

Ammunition

Alison Seabeck: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps are taken to ensure that ammunition used on firing ranges is fully and properly accounted for; and what amount of ammunition has not been accounted for in each of the three services in each of the last five years.

Anna Soubry: Holding answer received on 09 September 2014



The Ministry of Defence (MOD) takes the security and accounting of its ammunition very seriously. The MOD therefore has in place mechanisms to ensure that only units and individuals which are allowed to draw and use specific types of ammunition can do so. In addition to this, the MOD operates a rigorous internal audit system to ensure that ammunition can be accounted for at all stages of the supply chain. This includes both formal inventory checking within ammunition stores and confirmatory checks at the end of a range session; the latter includes a declaration requiring individuals to confirm they have no ammunition in their possession. The Service Police Crime Bureau has recorded all reported losses, thefts, and recoveries of MOD ammunition since 2011. Centrally held figures prior to 2011 are not available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. The amount of lost and stolen ammunition is shown in the following table.  201120122013TotalLost 9mm1316460237Lost 5.56mm2476021,4732,322Lost 7.62mm00210210Lost .22mm005555Lost L35A3 105mm0011Lost 12.7mm029029Stolen 9mm2301538Stolen 5.56mm901280371Stolen 7.62mm200030230 Full year data for 2014 is not yet available.

Armed Forces: Deployment

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many deployments of UK military personnel have been on the basis of a UN resolution in the last five years; what the cost of those deployments has been; and what funds the UN has contributed towards the cost of those deployments.

Mr Mark Francois: Holding answer received on 24 November 2014



The UN deploys peacekeepers on missions which hold a UN mandate; these are missions whereby the UN Security Council drafts a Resolution which contains a mandate authorising the UN itself to take action (unilaterally or with partners), usually through the Department of Peacekeeping Operations. Over the past five years, UK military personnel have been deployed to four separate UN mandated peacekeeping missions: Cyprus (UNFICYP), Mali (MINUSMA), South Sudan (UNMISS) and the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUSCO). The number of military personnel who have deployed on the various UN operations is set out below:  20102011201220132014UNFICYP272271273270274MINUSMA---12UNMISS3 324MONUSCO45455 The cost of UN peacekeeping operations is $8.0 billion for Financial Year 2014-15 of which the UK Government provides an assessed contribution of 6.68% ($534 million or £341.8 million) to the UN. Until late-2014, the UN reimbursed the country of origin with $1,101 per deployed soldier, per month (this has risen to $1,332 from July 2014). As an estimate, based on 300 personnel deployed, the UN has historically reimbursed the UK approximately £4 million per annum. Additional costs associated with the specific deployment of UK troops on UN missions are met by the Conflict Pool. The information below shows the additional costs for UK military staff on UN Peacekeeping Operations:  201220132014UNFICYP£18 million£18 million£17.8 millionOther UN missions£1.2 million£1.505 million£680,000 up to January 2015 The UK’s reimbursement from the UN is invested back into the Conflict Pool to bolster that fund.

Bahrain

Vernon Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what accommodation will be constructed at the UK's new naval base in Bahrain; and how much of this will be allocated to the families of service personnel.

Mr Mark Francois: Holding answer received on 17 December 2014



The Ministry of Defence has had a naval base in Bahrain since the 1950s. Under the arrangement (signed at the Manama dialogue in December 2014), the UK and Bahrain will work together to enhance facilities at the base. Negotiations are ongoing on the detailed design for the living and transit accommodation.

Bahrain

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will publish all correspondence and documentation held or produced by his Department on how the Government's Overseas Justice and Assistance Human Rights Guidance would affect the decision to enter an agreement with Bahrain to establish a naval base in the Gulf; and what assessment he has made of the compatibility of this decision with (a) international human rights treaties to which the UK is a party and (b) the promotion of human rights in Bahrain.

Mr Mark Francois: Holding answer received on 05 January 2015



The UK has had a naval presence in Bahrain since the 1950s which has supported naval patrols operating in and around the Gulf. Under the new arrangement signed by the Foreign Secretary in December 2014, the UK and Bahrain agreed to working together to enhance the existing facilities at the port. This arrangement is fully in accordance with the UK's international human rights obligations, which the Government takes extremely seriously.The Government's Overseas Security and Justice Assistance Guidance (OSJA) is a tool to ensure that security and justice assistance provided by the UK to a government overseas meets our human rights obligations and values. The recent defence agreement does not involve the provision of assistance to Bahrain, and therefore no assessment was required.However, the UK Government is supporting the government of Bahrain in its reform programme, including work to help Bahrain strengthen its human rights and justice sector, and all elements of this work that could have implications for human rights are subject to an Overseas Security and Justice Assistance assessment.

Iraq

Mr Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will place in the Library a copy of his Department's policy on the disclosure of information concerning lethal strikes in Iraq.

Mr Mark Francois: Holding answer received on 15 January 2015



Our policy on the disclosure of information regarding air strikes by Royal Air Force aircraft engaged on Operation Shader in Iraq is that the detail of each individual strike is carefully considered against the necessary constraint of maintaining operational security, but our over-riding principle is to seek to place information on each strike in the public domain in a prompt and timely manner. This is consistent with, and a continuation of, Ministry of Defence practice for any operational information. It reflects the necessity for the Armed Forces of a democracy such as the UK not just to conduct military operations in a highly disciplined, careful and proportionate manner within the rule of law, but to demonstrate transparency and accountability for such activity. The need for this is all the more important when the military operations are being conducted against a terrorist organisation such as ISIL which wholly disregards the rule of law and relies on a perverted ideology and deceitful propaganda. This policy has been followed ever since the start of air strike operations in support of the Iraqi authorities, following the Parliamentary vote on 26 September. The primary channel for publishing this information is the Government website www.gov.uk, and the information thus disclosed has been regularly reported in the British and international media.

Advertising

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what his Department's advertising budget was in each financial year from 2010-11 to 2014-15.

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what his Department's communications budget was in each financial year from 2010-11 to 2014-15.

Anna Soubry: Holding answer received on 04 February 2015



The following table outlines the communications outturn for the Ministry of Defence excluding trading funds for the financial years (FY) 2011-12, 2012-13, 2013-14 and 2014-15. Figures for full year 2014-15 are not yet available.   FY 2011-12FY 2012-13FY 2013-14Total£ 66.554 million£72.628 million£80.673 million  For comparison, the outturn for FY 2009-10 was £94.136 million. The figures above all include salaries and advertising and marketing for the Armed Forces.

Military Aviation Authority

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will place in the Library the letter with reference DG/03/01/MOD STRAT dated 8th February 2011 between the Director General of the Military Aviation Authority and the Second Permanent Under-Secretary of the Ministry of Defence.

Mr Mark Francois: Holding answer received on 11 February 2015



A copy of the letter has been placed in the Library of the House.



223407 - Letter between DGMAA and a 2nd PUS
(Word Document, 56 KB)

D-day Landings

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 5 December 2014 to Question 216388, if he will provide funding for Normandy Veterans to return to sites of Remembrance they choose rather than to sites chosen by the Royal British Legion as part of the D-Day Return scheme.

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 5 December 2014 to Question 216388, if he will permit Normandy Veterans to apply for funding for independent travel to Normandy as part of the D-Day Return scheme.

Anna Soubry: Holding answer received on 12 February 2015



The Ministry of Defence (MOD) does not fund visits by veterans to return to sites of Remembrance. The long standing MOD policy on official commemorations is that only certain specific anniversaries of events of major importance receive MOD sponsorship at public expense. Funding is still available from the Big Lottery fund, Heroes Return 2 scheme, as long as veterans travel before 31 December 2015 and haven’t benefited from this scheme since 1 January 2013. This scheme allows veterans to return to the theatre in which they saw action, so travel is not limited to Normandy. In addition, and as advised by my hon. Friend the Treasury Minister (David Gauke) in his response to Question 216388, the Royal British Legion (RBL) has been chosen to run the D-Day return scheme on the Government’s behalf. As detailed on the RBL website, the D-Day return scheme will not fund independent travel.

Recruitment

Mr Frank Roy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many people have been recruited to work for his Department as a result of television advertising in the last three years.

Mr Frank Roy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many people have been recruited to work for his Department as a result of advertisements placed online in the last three years.

Mr Julian Brazier: The Armed Forces uses a layered marketing campaign approach to recruitment into the Reserves which includes television, social media, outreach events and other mediums. Marketing analysis shows that people who join do so as a result of a cumulative number of so-called “touch points”. For this reason, the information which you seek is not available in the format you have requested. Research carried out by the Navy in July – December 2014 suggests that around half of potential applicants to the Maritime Reserve said that the ‘top influencer’ in their decision to apply was internet advertising, whilst a third said it was television. For recruitment to the Royal Auxiliary Air Force, television and internet campaigns combined represent over 90% of triggers to application. We do not have separate figures for the two categories. Research into which form of media is most effective is currently being carried out by the Army; this work will be completed within the next few months. Information on recruitment to the regular Armed Forces is collected as part of the Annual Recruit Trainee Survey, the latest version of which is available at the following web address: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/recruit-trainee-survey

NATO

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assets have been assigned to (a) Standing NATO Maritime Group 1, (b) Standing NATO Maritime Group 2, (c) Standing NATO Mine Countermeasures Group 1 and (d) Standing NATO Mine Countermeasures Group 2 since May 2014; and for how long each such asset has been so assigned.

Mr Mark Francois: There have been no Royal Navy ships assigned to Standing NATO Maritime Group 1 or Standing NATO Maritime Group 2 since 2012.The ships assigned to the Standing NATO Mine Countermeasures Group (SNMCMG) 1 and 2 since May 2014 were HMS Blyth, HMS Chiddingfold, HMS Grimsby and HMS Pembroke. The period of support is between one month and four months per ship.In addition, the Royal Navy provides regular contributions to maritime NATO exercises, supports Operation ACTIVE ENDEAVOUR in the Mediterranean using transiting surface vessels and submarines, and allows other NATO vessels in the Gulf region to refuel using the on station UK Royal Fleet Auxiliary Tanker.

Military Aircraft

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what deviations or exemptions from the Military Air Systems Certifications Process were made for the Airseeker aircraft; when those deviations or exemptions were made; and who authorised each such deviation or exemption.

Mr Philip Dunne: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 16 June 2014 (Official Report, column 364W) to the hon. Member for Plymouth, Moor View (Alison Seabeck).



224954 - 20140616 - Hansard extract
(Word Document, 24 KB)

Type 26 Frigates

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when it is planned that the Capability Decision Point will be reached for the Type 26 Frigate programme.

Mr Philip Dunne: The Capability Decision Point defined the key user requirements to be delivered by the Type 26 Global Combat Ships (GCS), and the milestone was achieved during the programme's Assessment Phase (AP) in November 2011. This allowed the Ministry of Defence to plan for a class of thirteen ships, approve the ships' baseline design and to focus on more detailed costing and design work during the remaining period of the AP.On 20 February 2015, the Government announced that this work was sufficiently mature to conclude the AP and the programme will move forward into its Demonstration Phase (DP) with effect from 1 April 2015.Under the DP contract, worth £859 million, we will continue detailed design work, invest in shore-based testing facilities and purchase key initial equipment for three Type 26 GCS vessels. In parallel, we will continue to work to understand better the programme schedule, cost and risk.On current planning, and subject to a main investment decision, this will allow the Manufacture Phase to commence in 2016.

Iraq

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate he has made of the total cost to his Department of operations in Iraq since 30 September 2014.

Mr Mark Francois: Her Majesty's Treasury have agreed that the net additional costs of the military air operation, including the Tornado GR4s, Reaper and Voyager Air-to-Air Refuelling aircraft, can be met from the HM Treasury Special Reserve. A limit of liability of £41 million in Financial Year 2014-15 for this activity was agreed at the Supplementary Estimates in February 2015.The net additional costs of training and equipping the Iraqi and Kurdish Security Forces as well as providing UK enablers is currently being met from the £50 million Deployed Military Activity Pool (DMAP). The net additional costs of the military support to the humanitarian mission in Iraq in August and September were £3.5 million; the Ministry of Defence has recovered the majority of these costs from the Department for International Development.

Nurseries

Alison McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to improve childcare infrastructure; and how much LIBOR funding has been used for that purpose.

Anna Soubry: The Government recognises that many military units, both in the UK and overseas, have evolved without the same standard of purpose-built childcare facilities that civilian families can expect. That is why the Chancellor announced in 2013 that up to £20 million of LIBOR money would be provided to update existing childcare facilities and provide new purpose-built buildings on the Defence Estate. In December 2014 the Prime Minister announced that around £3 million of this money will be spent on a childcare project at the RAF base in Akrotiri, Cyprus. In addition, initial scoping undertaken by the Ministry of Defence (MOD) has identified a further 38 locations where this money could increase the accessibility or availability of childcare provision for the Service community. MOD officials are now working to establish the levels of funding required for each project and announcements will be made in due course. It is anticipated the full £20 million will be used.

Pakistan

Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assistance his Department is providing to the provincial government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan for ensuring security.

Mr Mark Francois: Pakistan faces a severe threat from improvised explosive device (IED) attacks perpetrated by terrorist groups, and has sought assistance from the UK to help tackle this threat and develop the capabilities of its security forces.The UK is delivering a counter-IED (C-IED) programme to help Pakistan establish a multi-agency capability for tackling IEDs. Pakistan now has a rapidly expanding C-IED capability with close to 5,000 practitioners trained, which has helped significantly to deal with the scourge of IEDs and save Pakistani lives. The impact of our assistance has been felt across Pakistan, including Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and has been greatly appreciated by the Pakistan government and military leadership.

Apprentices

Mr Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many apprentices employed by (a) his Department and (b) its executive agencies and associated bodies are aged (i) 16 to 18, (ii) 19 to 24 and (iii) 25 years or older; and how many of those apprentices employed in each form of body and of each age group were previously employed by the Government.

Mr Philip Dunne: The Ministry of Defence (MOD) is proud to be recognised as the single largest deliverer of apprenticeships in the UK with over 18,000 apprenticeships undertaken each year across the Armed Forces.Information, on apprenticeships in the military, in the form requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.For civilians the following table provides the requested breakdown by age as at 1 January 2015, excluding approximately 30 Civil Service Fast Track apprentices for whom current age data is not available: 16-18 19-24 25 or older MOD Main (including Defence Equipment & Support (DE&S)) 50 100 40 Defence Support Group 10 30 20 Defence Science & Technology Laboratory (DSTL) ~ 10 ~ Total 60 140 60 Notes: ~ denotes five or fewer.Data has been individually rounded to the nearest 10, and may not sum precisely to the overall total.

Procurement

Mr Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what total value of contracts was awarded under his Department's Small Business Research Initiative competitions advertised through the Innovate UK website in (a) 2012-13 and (b) 2013-14.

Mr Philip Dunne: The Ministry of Defence has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Procurement

Mr Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what total value of contracts was awarded under his Department's Small Business Research Initiative competitions advertised through the Innovate UK website in 2014-15 to date; and for what total contract value his Department has budgeted for the full year.

Mr Philip Dunne: The Ministry of Defence has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Procurement

Mr Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many and what total value of new Phase 1 Small Business Research Initiative contracts were awarded by his Department in (a) 2012-13 and (b) 2013-14.

Mr Philip Dunne: The Ministry of Defence has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Procurement

Mr Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many and what total value of new Phase 1 Small Business Research Initiative contracts were awarded by his Department in 2014-15 to date; and for how many contracts to what value his Department has budgeted for the full year.

Mr Philip Dunne: The Ministry of Defence has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Procurement

Mr Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many and what total value of new Phase 2 Small Business Research Initiative contracts have been awarded by his Department in 2014-15 to date; and for how many contracts to what value his Department has budgeted for the full year.

Mr Philip Dunne: The Ministry of Defence has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Procurement

Mr Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what total budget his Department has allocated for Small Business Research Initiative competitions to be advertised through the Innovate UK website in 2015-16.

Mr Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what value of new Phase 2 Small Business Research Initiative contracts his Department expects to award in 2015-16.

Mr Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what value of new Phase 1 Small Business Research Initiative contracts his Department expects to award in 2015-16.

Mr Philip Dunne: The majority of Small Business Research Initiative (SBRI) competitions run by the Ministry of Defence (MOD) are funded by the MOD Science and Technology Programme. Final allocations of funding for projects and competitions within the Science and Technology Programme for 2015-16 have not yet been completed.

Procurement

Mr Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many and what total value of new Phase 2 Small Business Research Initiative contracts were awarded by his Department in (a) 2012-13 and (b) 2013-14.

Mr Philip Dunne: The Ministry of Defence has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Republic of Ireland

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will place in the Library a copy of the Memorandum of Understanding with the Republic of Ireland on defence collaboration signed on 15 January 2015.

Mr Mark Francois: A copy of the Memorandum of Understand between the UK and the Republic of Ireland has been placed in the Library of the House.

Colombia

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 27 October 2014 to Question 210962, how many armed forces personnel travelled to Colombia during 2013 in order to further the defence relationship.

Mr Mark Francois: The Ministry of Defence has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Colombia

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 28 October 2014 to Question 211346, in what ways is the issue of human rights closely examined before any military assistance to Colombia is approved; and at what level or rank is this examination conducted.

Mr Mark Francois: The Ministry of Defence has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Military Aid

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 28 October 2014 to Question 211346, what expertise and advice the UK has provided on international humanitarian law and human rights during military operations at (a) seminars and conferences and (b) other events since 2010; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Mark Francois: The Ministry of Defence has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Military Aircraft

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 2 February 2015 to Question 222053, by what date the documents will be placed in the Library.

Mr Mark Francois: A copy of the Cost Benefit Analysis (CBA): Fast-Jet Mid Air Collision Risk (Typhoon) has been placed in the Library of the House.

Department for Work and Pensions

Social Security Benefits: Disqualification

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many benefit claimants with alcohol or drug addictions have been sanctioned in (a) Dudley, (b) the West Midlands and (c) England in each of the last five years.

Esther McVey: The information requested is not readily available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Social Security Benefits: Drugs and Alcoholic Drinks

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department has taken to support benefit claimants with alcohol or drug problems.

Esther McVey: DWP provides a range of support to benefit claimants who are dependent on alcohol or drugs to help them achieve full recovery and sustained employment. Jobcentre Plus Work Coaches seek to identify claimants with these problems and refer them to a voluntary discussion with a treatment provider to discuss treatment options if they are not already in treatment. Work Coaches can also tailor the Claimant Commitment to reflect treatment commitments and where appropriate, Work Coaches can also offer early access to the Work Programme.

Social Security Benefits: Drugs and Alcoholic Drinks

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what guidance his Department issues to jobcentre staff on dealing with benefit claimants suffering from drug or alcohol addictions.

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of benefit claimants in (a) Dudley, (b) the West Midlands and (c) England were receiving treatment for drug or alcohol addiction in each of the last five years.

Esther McVey: The information requested is not available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.Jobcentre Plus staff have access to specific on-line guidance to help them deal with benefit claimants suffering from drug and/or alcohol addictions. The guidance details the wide range of help and support available to claimants with drug and/or alcohol dependency. It helps staff identify these claimants and advises how they can encourage disclosure in order to support the individual in their journey towards employment and sustained recovery. Staff also have access to available provision and specialist support, both nationally and locally, for drug and/or alcohol dependent claimants. Jobcentre Plus supports people with drug and/or alcohol addictions by: · referring people (who are not in treatment) to a voluntary discussion with a local treatment provider;· recognising the implications of treatment for drug and/or alcohol dependency upon a claimant’s availability for work;· building strong and effective relationships with external partners;· delivering case conferencing, with claimants, their treatment key workers, and Jobcentre Plus Work Coaches to discuss a joined-up approach to achieve a route-way into employment; and· offering early access to the Work Programme where they can receive flexible and personalised support to return to work.

Children: Maintenance

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of the child maintenance arrears owed in respect of Child Support Agency cases where a child could still benefit is owed by a parent who is self-employed or a director of a private company.

Steve Webb: As at December 2014, 12.4%1 of the amount of arrears where there is a qualifying child remaining on the case is owed by non resident parents who are self-employed. Information on the job title of non-resident parents is not routinely recorded for management information purposes and could only be provided at disproportionate cost. Note:1. Data sourced from CSCS and CS2 computer systems. Employment status is not available for cases managed off system.

Children: Maintenance

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of Child Support Agency cases with a child who could benefit are known to concern a non-resident parent who is self-employed or a director of a private company.

Steve Webb: As at December 2014, of the live cases where there is a qualifying child remaining on the case, 8.5%1 are in relation to a non resident parent who is self-employed. Information on the job title of non-resident parents is not routinely recorded for management information purposes and could only be provided at disproportionate cost. Note:1. Data sourced from CSCS and CS2 computer systems. Employment status is not available for cases managed off system.

Children: Maintenance

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, in how many and what proportion of Child Support Agency arrears cases where there is a child who could still benefit was a contribution made to arrears in the last (a) quarter, (b) year and (c) two years.

Steve Webb: The table below shows the numbers and proportions of arrears cases where a qualifying child is remaining on the case, where a contribution towards arrears has been made within the last two years. Last paid:Number ProportionLatest quarter (Dec 14)183,20025.3%Latest year345,20047.8%Latest 2 years410,70056.8%

Children: Maintenance

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much of the Child Support Agency arrears owed in respect of a child who could still benefit are regarded as (a) temporarily and (b) permanently collectable.

Steve Webb: As at December 2014, the amount of arrears where there is a qualifying child remaining on the case that is (a) temporarily1 and (b) permanently2 uncollectable is £4.8 million and £10.3 million respectively. Notes:1. We have interpreted temporarily uncollectable as arrears on cases where the case is under surveillance, we are unable to trace the NRP, the NRP is abroad or the debt is suspended.2. We have interpreted permanently uncollectable as arrears on cases where the non-resident parent or parent with care is deceased, where the arrears are deferred or where the arrears are classed as Interim Maintenance Assessment Gap (money that cannot be collected due to it not being covered by legislation).

Children: Maintenance

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what (a) number and (b) proportion of Child Support Agency cases are known to concern a non-resident parent who is (i) self-employed and (ii) a director of a private company.

Steve Webb: As at December 2014, there were 102,3001 (7.5%) live cases where the non resident parent was self-employed. Information on the job title of non-resident parents is not routinely recorded for management information purposes and could only be provided at disproportionate cost. Note:1. Data sourced from CSCS and CS2 computer systems. Employment status is not available for cases managed off system.

Children: Maintenance

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, in what proportion of Child Support Agency arrears cases where there is a child who could still benefit are there arrears which have been (a) temporarily and (b) permanently suspended.

Steve Webb: As of December 2014 approximately 36%1 of cases with arrears where there is a qualifying child remaining on the case contained an amount of suspended arrears. Information regarding arrears that have been temporarily or permanently suspended is not readily available and has not previously been published as official statistics. We will consider whether it is feasible to produce the statistics requested within the disproportionate cost limit, and if so, will issue them in an official statistics release in accordance with the Code of Practice for Official Statistics. Notes:1. Management information on suspended debt is not available for off system cases, therefore the proportion of suspended arrears has been calculated using CS2 and CSCS cases only.

Social Security Benefits: Scotland

Dr Eilidh Whiteford: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people received hardship payments in Scotland in the last 12 months; and how many such payments were made as a result of a benefit sanction.

Esther McVey: The latest published information on hardship awards covers the 12 month period from April 2011 to March 2012 can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/222972/hardship_adhoc_2011_2012.pdf The Department intends to publish further figures on the number of hardship applications and awards in May 2015. Information on how many such payments were made as a result of a benefit sanction is not available.

Social Security Benefits: Payments

Dr Eilidh Whiteford: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 9 February 2015 to Question 222884, whether his Department plans to publish statistics on the number of hardship applications and awards before the General Election.

Esther McVey: The Department intends to publish figures on the number of hardship applications and awards in May 2015. The date of publication will be announced shortly.

Work Programme

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of people on the Work Programme who have been subject to benefit sanctions have been identified as suffering from mental health problems.

Esther McVey: The information requested is not readily available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Children: Maintenance

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 12 February 2015 to Question 223811, whether the next release of experimental statistics on the 2012 child maintenance scheme will include data on (a) the extent to which cases are fully, partially or nil compliant and (b) the amount of child maintenance arrears currently outstanding on Child Maintenance Service cases.

Steve Webb: We intend to include data on the proportion of 2012 cases contributing in the next release of experimental statistics on the 2012 child maintenance scheme. We are not yet in a position to release full statistics on the 2012 Scheme, administered by the Child Maintenance Service, but when system data become available and fully assured they will be released as part of a managed process, which will be pre-announced and in line with the Code of Practice for Official Statistics.

Social Security Benefits: South Yorkshire

Michael Dugher: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the value was of benefit sanctions applied to claimants in (a) Barnsley East constituency, (b) Barnsley local authority area and (c) South Yorkshire in each year since 2010.

Dr Eilidh Whiteford: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what total cash value of jobseeker's allowance was withheld as a result of sanctions in Scotland in the last 12 months.

Esther McVey: As previously replied and reiterated in the Debate on the matter, the Department doesn’t make an estimate of the amount of benefit that would have been withheld as a result of benefit sanctions. Sanctions are designed to ensure claimants comply with their requirements in order to help them move off benefits and into work. The Department doesn’t make an estimate of the amount of benefit that would have been withheld as a result of benefit sanctions.

Incapacity Benefit

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what comparative assessment he has made of job outcomes of those people transferred from incapacity benefit to the fit to work groups who have (a) mental health and (b) other health issues.

Mr Mark Harper: We do not hold information on job outcomes for Incapacity Benefit Reassessment claimants who are found fit for work.

Social Security Benefits: Middlesbrough

Andy McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of benefit sanctions in Middlesbrough were overturned following a mandatory reconsideration in the last 12 months.

Esther McVey: The number of Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA) and Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) mandatory reconsiderations overturned for Middlesbrough Unitary Authority is published at: https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/ Guidance on how to extract the information required can be found at: https://sw.stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/Stat-Xplore_User_Guide.htm Proportions can then be calculated using the published figures.

Universal Credit

Mr Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the number of universal credit claimants likely to face hardship as a result of the seven-day waiting period before new claimants are paid.

Mr Mark Harper: The Department for Work and Pensions has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Unemployment

Mr Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of how many working-age households are better off out of work than in work in each year since 2010.

Esther McVey: The information requested is not available. Universal Credit ensures that people are better off in work – and makes it pay for people to increase their earnings through more or better paid work. We will, for the first time, be supporting people in low-paid work to take active steps to increase their earnings. Universal Credit substantially improves the incentives to work. Up to 300,000 more people are likely to be in work as a result of Universal Credit, through improved financial incentives, increased simplicity of the system and increased conditionality. The number of workless households has fallen by nearly 700,000 since 2010, to its lowest level on record and the number of people in in-work poverty fell 300,000 on the year, 2012/13 compared to 2011/12.

Social Security Benefits: Disability

Mr Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what guidance his Department issues to jobcentres on food bank referral for families with disabled children whose benefit applications have not been processed in a timely manner.

Esther McVey: All available Jobcentre Plus support will be explored and exhausted before considering signposting to other organisations.

Social Security Benefits: Assessments

Mr Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether contractual terms for the provision of benefit assessments have transferred directly from Atos to Maximus; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Mark Harper: There has been no transfer of contractual terms. A new contract with MAXIMUS Health and Human Services Ltd was awarded following a negotiated procurement route which offered an opportunity to clarify and probe bidders’ proposals during an extensive period of negotiation.

Work Programme

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much has been spent through the Work Programme on (a) attachment, (b) job outcome and (c) sustainment payments for people aged (i) up to 24, (ii) 25 to 49 and (iii) 50 years and over since June 2011.

Esther McVey: The information is not available in the format requested.

Welfare Assistance Schemes

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will promote the sharing of best practice in the administration of local welfare schemes.

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department has made of the effective delivery of local welfare schemes by English local authorities.

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what representations he has received about instances of people being sent from Jobcentre Plus to apply to the local welfare scheme instead of being offered a short-term advance of benefits; and if he will make a statement.

Steve Webb: We spoke at length to a number of local authorities last autumn when conducting a review of local welfare schemes.  The findings were published, including examples of best practice, on 5th November 2014. A copy of the report was sent to all the local authorities that received funding and a copy placed in the House library. It can also be found on the Gov.uk website here:https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/370775/2-local-welfare-provision-review-nov-2014.pdf None of those local authorities we spoke to raised concerns about people being incorrectly referred to local welfare provision support rather than being considered for a Short Term Benefit Advance (STBA). There were some suggestions that this may have happened on occasion when STBAs were first introduced in April 2013, so the department issued revised guidance and instructions to staff at the time. The relevant DWP guidance was also shared with local authorities.

Social Security Benefits

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what value of interim payments have been made to people affected by sanctions or delays in benefit payments.

Esther McVey: The Department for Work and Pensions has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Social Security Benefits

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the oral Answer of 8 December 2014, Official Report, column 638, what steps he has taken to raise awareness of interim payments for people affected by sanctions or delays in benefit payments.

Esther McVey: The Department for Work and Pensions has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Social Security Benefits: Disability

Dr Julian Huppert: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will review the procedures for notifying his Department of a change of circumstances in the event of hospitalisation when the claimant is incapacitated and unable to contact the Disability Benefits helpline.

Mr Mark Harper: The Department for Work and Pensions has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Apprentices

Mr Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many apprentices employed by (a) her Department and (b) its executive agencies and associated bodies are aged (i) 16 to 18, (ii) 19 to 24 and (iii) 25 years or older; and how many of those apprentices employed in each form of body and of each age group were previously employed by the Government.

Dan Rogerson: A breakdown by age group of the total number of apprentices employed by Defra and its Executive Agencies and Executive non-departmental public bodies is set out in the table below:(a)  Department(b1)  Executive Agencies(b2)  Executive non-departmental public bodies No. of apprentices(Of which, number who have been employed previously by the Government)No. of apprentices(Of which, number who have been employed previously by the Government)No. of apprentices(Of which, number who have been employed previously by the Government)(i)  16-19 years2(0)6(0)0(0)(ii)  19-24 years2(0)12(0)12(6 *)(iii)  25 years or older0(0)1(0)40(34 *)TOTAL4(0)19(0)52(40 *)   * these are existing employees who have taken up an apprenticeship

Floods: South Yorkshire

Michael Dugher: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much was spent by her Department on flood prevention in (a) Barnsley East constituency, (b) Barnsley local authority area and (c) South Yorkshire in each year since 2010.

Dan Rogerson: The table below shows Government spending for flood prevention work in the Barnsley East constituency, the Barnsley local authority area and across South Yorkshire. The figures for 2014/15 are based on the Environment Agency’s most recent forecast spend.  Spend (£k) 2010/112011/122012/132013/142014/15TotalBarnsley East Constituency - Total161399999597851Barnsley Local Authority Area - Total2804803263211621,569South Yorkshire - Total3,1524,6594,1628,7704,85225,595

Dogs

Angela Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will distribute guidance on dog waste management for both onsite and offsite disposal to ensure puppy breeders manage waste in accordance with environmental and health guidelines.

George Eustice: Businesses have a duty of care to make sure that waste, including dog faecal matter, is managed and disposed of in a way which does not cause harm to human health and the environment. Dog faecal matter may only be disposed of at a site in accordance with an environmental permit or registered exemption, under the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2010.   There is existing guidance on the disposal of dog faecal matter provided by the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health (CIEH). The CIEH Model Licence Conditions and Guidance for Dog Breeding Establishments is available at: http://www.cieh.org/WorkArea/showcontent.aspx?id=50814.

Department for Communities and Local Government

Housing: Fires

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what statistics his Department collates on the number of accidental dwelling fires (a) in the private rented sector, (b) in the social rented sector and (c) for owner occupiers.

Penny Mordaunt: The table below shows the number of accidental dwelling fires attended by Fire and Rescue Services in England and illustrates a fall in incidents over the past ten years. 2003/0440,0292004/0538,2882005/0638,3072006/0736,6602007/0834,2582008/0932,4282009/1033,0362010/1131,7012011/1230,7832012/13(r)29,6462013/14(p)28,034Source: DCLG incident Recording System, Fire Statistics Monitor 2013-14Smokers’ materials (i.e. cigarettes, cigars or pipe tobacco) were the most common source of ignition for accidental dwelling fires which resulted in fatalities, while cooking appliances were the most common source of ignition for accidental dwelling fires overall.We do not hold information on accidental dwelling fires by tenure. The English Housing Survey in 2013-14 estimated total fire outbreaks within the last two years (both accidental and deliberate, and including those not attended by Fire and Rescue Services) as occurring in 2.1 per cent of private rented, 2.4 per cent of social rented sector, and 1.4 per cent of owner occupied dwellings.

Public Expenditure

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, for what reasons spending data for his Department for most months of 2014 has been published later than such data for the previous three years.

Kris Hopkins: My Department is more transparent than other parts of Whitehall, as we publish all spending over £250 and every item spent on Government Procurement Cards. This can result in slightly longer lead times to check and publish the data compared to other departments, but we believe that this enhanced transparency is in the public interest.

Market Towns

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to support market towns.

Penny Mordaunt: The Government is fully committed to helping communities respond to the structural changes underway in our town centres. Since 2010, we have helped create over 360 town teams, including 27 Portas Pilots. We have funded successful initiatives such as ‘Love your Local Market’ and the Great British High Street Portal and awards. We have strengthened the role of Business Improvement Districts, introduced new permitted development rights and are tackling aggressive parking enforcement.In addition, approximately 600,000 businesses are benefitting from Small Business Rate Relief with approximately 400,000 paying no rates at all. We announced at the 2014 Autumn Statement an extra £650 million of support for 2015-16 business rates bills in England, bringing the total support from 2013 and 2014 Autumn Statement measures to £1.4 billion in 2015-16. That includes amongst other things: doubling Small Business Rate Relief for a further year (2015-16);increasing the temporary discount for shops, pubs and restaurants with rateable values below £50,000 from £1,000 to £1,500 for 2015-16. Over half of the £1.4 billion package will go to retail.

Homelessness: South Yorkshire

Michael Dugher: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many (a) statutory and (b) non-statutory homeless people there were in (i) Barnsley East constituency, (ii) Barnsley local authority area and (iii) South Yorkshire in each of the last 10 years.

Kris Hopkins: Figures on homelessness are collected at local authority level rather than parliamentary constituencies. The requested figures for Barnsley local authority area and South Yorkshire are provided in the attached table. Figures at local authority level on statutory homelessness and homelessness prevention and relief are available to download at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-homelessness. Figures at local authority level on rough sleeping are available to download at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/rough-sleeping-in-england-autumn-2014This Government has increased spending to prevent homelessness, making over £500 million available to help the most vulnerable in society and have kept strong protections to guard families against the threat of homelessness.



Homeless Figures for Barnsley and South Yorkshire
(Excel SpreadSheet, 3.69 MB)

Apprentices

Mr Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many apprentices employed by (a) his Department and (b) its executive agencies and associated bodies are aged (i) 16 to 18, (ii) 19 to 24 and (iii) 25 years or older; and how many of those apprentices employed in each form of body and of each age group were previously employed by the Government.

Kris Hopkins: The Department for Communities & Local Government currently employ 10 apprentices of which 4 are aged 16 to 18 and 6 are aged 19 to 24. None of the apprentices were previously employed by the Government.The Department's executive agencies and associated bodies currently employ 11 apprentices of which 4 are aged 16 to 18 and 7 are aged 19 to 24. None of the apprentices were previously employed by the Government. Ministers have also engaged directly with apprentices through round table catch ups. OrganisationAge16 to 18Age19 to 24TotalDepartment for Communities & Local Government4610The Planning Inspectorate426Homes & Communities Agency 55

Wales Office

Apprentices

Mr Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, how many apprentices employed by (a) his Department and (b) its executive agencies and associated bodies are aged (i) 16 to 18, (ii) 19 to 24 and (iii) 25 years or older; and how many of those apprentices employed in each form of body and of each age group were previously employed by the Government.

Alun Cairns: The numbers of Apprentices employed at the Wales Office is shown below: Ages:(i) 16-18(ii) 19-24(iii) 25 and olderNumber of Apprentices132Previously employed by Government010

HM Treasury

Children: Day Care

Alison McGovern: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many people have used the childcare calculator since it was launched.

Priti Patel: I refer the honourable member to the answer that my honourable friend the Economic Secretary to the Treasury, Andrea Leadsom MP, gave on 9 January 2015, official report question number 219642

Wines

Tim Loughton: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the contribution of the English wine industry to the UK economy.

Priti Patel: There is information publically available on this subject; for example, Ernst and Young (EY) have recently published its economic impact analysis of the wine industry in the UK. The EY report which can be found online includes estimates of the wine industry’s financial contribution to the UK economy, contribution to economic activity and the number of jobs the industry supports.

Social Services: Pay

Liz Kendall: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the name is of each social care provider being investigated by HM Revenue and Customs for non-compliance with national minimum wage regulations.

Mr David Gauke: The Government takes the enforcement of the National Minimum Wage (NMW) very seriously and has increased the financial penalty percentage from 50% to 100% of the unpaid wages owed to workers, and the maximum penalty from £5,000 to £20,000. These new limits are now in force where arrears are identified in pay reference periods on or after 7 March 2014. The Government will also bring in primary legislation as soon as possible so that the maximum £20,000 penalty can apply to each underpaid worker.   HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) are unable to comment on ongoing investigations.

Whisky: Taxation

Ian Paisley: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what proportion of the average price of a 700ml bottle of whisky is constituted by tax; and if he will make a statement.

Priti Patel: Data on the proportion of an average-priced bottle of whisky which is paid on tax is published by HMRC in the Alcohol Factsheet. This can be found in Table 3.1 at:   https://www.uktradeinfo.com/Statistics/Pages/TaxAndDutybulletins.aspx

Minimum Wage

Paul Blomfield: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 24 February 2015 to Question 224081, how many people have been assisted by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) in pursuing national minimum wage recovery through the civil courts on their behalf; and what the value was of wages recovered through the civil courts where HMRC has so pursued recovery in each year from 2005.

Paul Blomfield: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 24 February 2015 to Question 224081, what the average length of time was between a worker reporting non-payment of the national minimum wage to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) and receiving the recovered wages owed to them in cases where HMRC assists with pursuing recovery through the civil courts in each of the last three years.

Mr David Gauke: The Government takes the enforcement of National Minimum Wage (NMW) very seriously. HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) enforce NMW legislation on behalf of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) and has done so since the introduction of NMW in April 1999.   HMRC do not keep data on action taken through the civil courts in a format that would enable provision of the statistics requested.

Minimum Wage

Mr Chuka Umunna: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many investigations were commenced by HM Revenue and Customs National Minimum Wage compliance teams in each of the last five years; and how many such investigations resulted in a Notice of Underpayment being issued.

Mr Chuka Umunna: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many enforcement actions were pursued by HM Revenue and Customs National Minimum Wage compliance teams through (a) employment tribunals and (b) civil courts in each of the last five years; and what amount was recovered through that process in each such year.

Mr Chuka Umunna: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many fines were imposed on employers for non-compliance with the National Minimum Wage in each of the last five years; and what the value of each such fine was.

Mr David Gauke: The Government takes the enforcement of the National Minimum Wage (NMW) very seriously and has increased the financial penalty percentage from 50% to 100% of the unpaid wages owed to workers, and the maximum penalty from £5,000 to £20,000. These new limits are now in force where arrears are identified in pay reference periods on or after 7 March 2014. The Government will also bring in primary legislation as soon as possible so that the maximum £20,000 penalty can apply to each underpaid worker.   HMRC record data based on investigations completed. I refer the honourable member to the answer provided on 6 May 2014 at Hansard Column 110W which provides details of investigations completed and incidences of non-compliance.   HMRC do not hold data on Employment Tribunals and action taken through civil courts in a format that would enable provision of the statistics requested.   I refer the honourable member to the answer provided at UIN 205613 for details of penalties issued and their value.

Department for Energy and Climate Change

Green Deal Scheme

Jonathan Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, how many Green Deal providers, assessors and installers have broken the Green Deal Code of Practice since the start of the Green Deal.

Amber Rudd: Around 10% of Green Deal assessor organisations and 12% of Green Deal installers have had their authorisations as a Green Deal participant removed for non-compliance issues against the Green Deal Code of Practice. No Green Deal providers have had their authorisation removed.

Energy: Debts

Mr Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that families with children which fall behind with their energy bills receive the Warm Home Discount.

Amber Rudd: The Government recently responded to the consultation on extending the Warm Home Discount to 2015/16. In addition to extending the scheme to 2015/16, all participating suppliers will have to adopt standard criteria for their Broader Group schemes. This will make the Warm Home Discount more accessible to families with children and make it simpler to switch between the participating suppliers. The rebate for customers in 2015/16 has been maintained at £140 which means that an additional 71,000 Broader Group rebates will be paid to customers, potentially benefitting for the first time.For setting a repayment plan for customers who fall behind on payments, all energy suppliers are required to take ability to pay into account. Some suppliers also provide special grants and other services to help families. Further information is available free from the Home Heat Helpline on 0800 33 66 99.

Nuclear Decommissioning Authority

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what the cost to the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority would have been of terminating its contract with Nuclear Management Partners at its break point.

Matthew Hancock: Contractual termination costs are determined based upon the terms of the contract with Nuclear Management Partners. The precise terms of the contract are commercially confidential but these costs equate to approximately one per cent of average annual fee.

Energy: Prices

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what estimate his Department has made of the wholesale cost of (a) electricity and (b) gas in each year since 2001.

Matthew Hancock: DECC does not itself estimate wholesale market prices for electricity and gas. These prices are provided to us on a commercial basis by Marex Spectron and ICIS Heren for electricity and gas respectively.We have calculated yearly averages of the day-ahead wholesale electricity and gas prices (respectively) provided to DECC by Marex Spectron and ICIS Heren respectively on license. These are shown in the table below. Wholesale gas data provided to DECC is only available from 2007. YearWholesale gas (p/therm) priceElectricity (£/MWh)(Source: NBP day-ahead price from ICIS Heren)(Source: day-ahead price from Marex Spectron)2001 18.402002 16.702003 21.202004 22.602005 39.002006 42.6020073031.1020085874.5020093137.5020104241.9020115648.2020126045.1020136850.6020145042.40

Energy: Prices

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, pursuant to the oral contribution by the hon. Member for Hastings and Rye of 14 January 2015, Official Report, column 931, on energy prices, what the evidential basis is for the statement that the market share of independent suppliers is 10.5 per cent.

Matthew Hancock: The Domestic Energy Market Snapshot 31 October 2014, published by Energy UK, notes that the aggregate major supplier share of the domestic dual fuel energy market had dropped to 89.5%.http://www.energy-uk.org.uk/publication.html?task=file.download&id=5017

Renewable Heat Incentive Scheme

Mrs Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, whether the Renewable Heat Incentive scheme accepts a boiler that has met the emissions limits set for E class fuels according to the EN303-5:2012 standard.

Mrs Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what emission certification dedicated to E class fuels exists under the Renewable Heat Incentive scheme.

Mrs Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, whether it is his policy that the Renewable Heat Incentive scheme accepts an emissions certificate where an E class fuel group is stated as one of the fuels officially approved by the manufacturers and tested by an accredited laboratory.

Mrs Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, whether pelletized waste coffee beans or grounds are included in the definition of E class fuels for the purpose of the Renewable Heat Incentive scheme.

Amber Rudd: Holding answer received on 27 February 2015



Ofgem, who administer the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) scheme, do not specifically use the E-class fuel classification to determine fuel or installation eligibility under the RHI. Requirements regarding fuels are described in Ofgem’s RHI Guidance Volumes One and Two.https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/publications-and-updates/guidance-volume-one-two-and-fuel-measurement-and-sampling-guidance.

Energy: Prices

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, pursuant to the Answer of 10 December 2014 to Question 214542, in what circumstances each supplier identified by his Department requests a refundable security deposit.

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, pursuant to the Answer of 10 December 2014 to Question 214542, which suppliers his Department has identified as requesting a refundable security deposit.

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, pursuant to the Answer of 10 December 2014 to Question 214542, how much each of the suppliers identified by his Department requests as a refundable security deposit.

Amber Rudd: All supply companies may ask for a deposit of money as security for the future payment of energy charges if a customer’s credit status is unsatisfactory, they have repeatedly failed to pay their energy bills or have broken an agreed payment arrangement, or a new customer is unable to provide proof of identity and/or details of previous place of residence. Deposits must not exceed a reasonable rate.Suppliers will not ask for a security deposit when a customer agrees to have a prepayment meter installed to repay a debt, or their personal circumstances means it would be unreasonable to require one.Supply companies will refund a security deposit in full when a customer has demonstrated their ability to pay their energy bills by paying each bill in full during an agreed period - often 12 months.The Department does not hold information on the approach of individual suppliers to security deposits.

Energy: Billing

Mr Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, how many and what proportion of households in (a) England and (b) the UK used (i) pre-payment, (ii) direct debit and (iii) standard credit methods for paying for energy in each year since 2010; and what proportion of each such group of customers was categorised as fuel poor.

Amber Rudd: Holding answer received on 27 February 2015



Data on methods of payment for domestic energy consumers are published in Quarterly Energy Prices, tables 2.4.2 and 2.5.2.This is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/quarterly-domestic-energy-price-stastics.

Ofgem

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, how many non-financial penalties Ofgem has imposed in each year since 2001; and what each such penalty was.

Amber Rudd: The Department for Energy and Climate Change has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Ofgem

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, how many fines Ofgem has imposed in each year since 2001; and what the value was of each such fine.

Amber Rudd: The Department for Energy and Climate Change has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Ofgem

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, how many compensation packages for consumers Ofgem has secured in each year since 2001; and what the value was of each such package.

Amber Rudd: The Department for Energy and Climate Change has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Electricity Generation

Mr Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, how much electricity was generated from each type of source in the most recent year for which figures are available.

Matthew Hancock: The table below shows electricity generation by fuel type for the year to 2014 Q3, as well as the calendar year 2013. Data for 2014 Q4 will be published on 26 March 2015. UK electricity generation by fuel (TWh)  2013 calendar year12 months to 2014 Q3  TWhCoal130.8104.0Oil2.12.1Gas95.698.1Nuclear70.667.8Hydro (natural flow)4.75.9Wind and Solar130.535.0Bioenergy18.520.6Pumped Storage2.92.9Other fuels3.53.5Total 359.1339.6   1 Includes wave and tidal.Source: Energy Trends, table 5.1. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/electricity-section-5-energy-trends.

Cabinet Office

Families

Alison McGovern: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what proportion of families in (a) England, (b) the North West and (c) Merseyside have one stay-at-home parent.

Mr Rob Wilson: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply. 



ONS Letter to Member - One Stay at home parent
(PDF Document, 121.12 KB)

Apprentices

Mr Chuka Umunna: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many apprentices employed by (a) his Department and (b) its executive agencies and associated bodies are aged (i) 16 to 18, (ii) 19 to 24 and (iii) 25 years or older; and how many of those apprentices employed in each form of body and of each age group were previously employed by the Government.

Mr Francis Maude: My department currently employs 7 apprentices aged 16-18; 28 aged 19-24; and 5 or fewer aged over 25.Cabinet Office executive agencies and specialist bodies employs five or fewer apprenticeships aged 16-18; five or fewer 19-24; and five or fewer aged over 25.Cabinet Office does not hold information centrally relating to apprentices’ previous employment.As was the case under previous administrations, exact figures are not provided when five or fewer individuals are involved.

Civil Servants: Pensions

Mr David Hanson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many pension payments to retired civil servants have been (a) missed and (b) delayed by MyCSP, in each month since September 2014.

Mr Francis Maude: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Leicester South on 8 January 2015 to UIN: 219343.

Youth Services

Ian Paisley: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will establish a universal youth service with ring-fenced funding from central government.

Mr Rob Wilson: There is a statutory duty which requires that local authorities secure, as far as is practicable, sufficient services and activities to improve the wellbeing of young people.It is for local authorities to decide how to secure services that meet the needs of young people in their communities from available resources. The Cabinet Office is working to offer practical support to the youth sector within this context through the Delivering Differently for Young People programme, National Citizen Service and other social action opportunities for young people.

Department for Culture Media and Sport

Digital Broadcasting: Radio

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether there is a limit on the number of stations on a digital audio multiplex aimed at the same section of the listening audience.

Mr Edward Vaizey: Digital broadcasting services are regulated by Ofcom, the independent broadcasting regulator. Ofcom, is responsible for the licensing of digital radio multiplexes and for ensuring that a licence holder complies with the conditions of their licence. Ofcom is required under legislation, among other things, to further the interests of consumers in relevant markets, where appropriate by promoting competition and to secure the availability throughout the UK of a wide range of television and radio services which (taken as a whole) are both of high quality and calculated to appeal to a variety of tastes and interests. When considering an application to operate a digital radio multiplex or in the instance where an existing licence holder of a digital radio multiplex is seeking a change to the services broadcasting on the multiplex. Ofcom will take account of a digital radio multiplex licence holder’s ensemble of digital sound programme services as a whole when considering whether such services appeal to a wide variety of tastes and interests. This would not necessarily preclude a digital radio multiplex operator from including in their ensemble digital sound programme services which are of the same or a similar genre and/or appeal to the same or a similar demographic group.

Freeview Service

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if he will make an assessment of the (a) representation of BME programming and channels available on Freeview and (b) the barriers to BME channels being on Freeview.

Mr Edward Vaizey: The Government is interested in the fair representation of BAME people in the media and on television and we are pleased to note that the Creative Diversity Network is developing a monitoring system, Project Diamond, to collect standardised and comparable diversity data on-screen and off-screen. Project Diamond is due to start collecting data later in the year.In addition, the Communications Act includes a duty on Ofcom to periodically assess the extent to which public service broadcasting purposes and objectives are being met by all the PSB channels taken together. The purposes and objectives include meeting the needs and satisfying the interests of as many different audiences as practicable; and providing a sufficient quantity of programmes that reflect the lives and concerns of different communities and cultural interests and traditions within the United Kingdom, and locally in different parts of the United Kingdom.On the selection of programming and channels on Freeview, it is for individual channels serving different BAME communities to take a commercial view about whether or not to broadcast their services on Freeview and to then seek carriage from the digital terrestrial TV multiplex operator and a digital television service programme licence from Ofcom. Prospective channels can apply for a UK broadcasting licence from Ofcom, provided they meet the statutory criteria. Channels that mainly serve the BAME community have tended to broadcast on pay platforms, particularly satellite, rather than Freeview, as this gives them access to subscription revenues as well as from advertising and programme sponsorship.

House of Commons Commission

Conditions of Employment

Mr Frank Field: To ask the hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross representing the House of Commons Commission, if he will seek information from contractors operating on the parliamentary estate on how many of their workers are employed on a zero-hours contract.

John Thurso: The House does not routinely collect this information from contractors operating on the parliamentary estate and has no plans to do so. The House is committed to offering guaranteed minimum hours contracts to all directly-employed staff on call-off (zero hours) contracts and has completed a process of offering guaranteed minimum hours contracts to all affected staff.

Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority

Members: Allowances

Mr David Winnick: To ask the hon. Member for Broxbourne, representing the Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, if the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority will consistently differentiate between (a) total staffing and constituency office costs and (b) other claims by hon. Members on its website and in its publications.

Mr Charles Walker: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority. I have asked IPSA to reply.Letter from Marcial Boo, January 2015:As Chief Executive of the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking about publication of MPs' business costs and expenses.IPSA routinely publishes on our website all costs incurred by MPs and claimed from us. In doing so, we set out to which budget the cost relates; for example, office costs or staffing. In doing so, we set out which budget each cost relates to, whether to the office cost, staffing or other budget.

Women and Equalities

Apprentices

Mr Chuka Umunna: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, how many apprentices employed by (a) the Government Equalities Office and (b) its executive agencies and associated bodies are aged (i) 16 to 18, (ii) 19 to 24 and (iii) 25 years or older; and how many of those apprentices employed in each form of body and of each age group were previously employed by the Government.

Jo Swinson: The answer is as follows: (a) one apprentice, aged 19 to 24, not previously employed by the Government.  (b) None

Equal Pay

Dr Eilidh Whiteford: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, how many companies have been required to carry out equal pay audits after they have been found to be discriminating on the basis of gender since 1 October 2014.

Jo Swinson: Regulations requiring an employment tribunal to order an equal pay audit where an employer is found to be in breach of equal pay law came into force on 1st October 2014. We are not so far aware of any cases where an audit has been ordered.